Nation of Language: "I love rising to an occasion, and feeling like I have to kind of hold my own”

New Wave has been given new momentum by Brooklyn indie pop trio Nation of Language. Discovering his love for the genre when his father introduced him to the music of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, lead singer Ian Richard Devaney still gets a kick out of seeing an older generation of synth savants at their shows.

“It’s really cool to see people who were there for the original popularity of new wave, and to get that nod of approval from people that experienced it the first-time round,” says Devaney.  “You’re also getting younger people who haven’t been exposed to that sort of music as much, or who just have a vague notion of it. It’s kind of like bringing those sounds into the present.”

Consisting of Ian Devaney, Aidan Noell, and Alex MacKay, Nation of Language was formed in 2016, releasing their debut album Introduction, Presence in 2020. Since then, they have gone on numerous tours, releasing their sophomore A Way Forward in 2021, followed by Strange Disciple in 2023.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by aidan noell (@dudeitsaidan)

Breaking out during the pandemic, Devaney reckons their layered music worked as a compliment to the general mood of fans.

“They could listen to it and be just kind of sad in their apartment, but also play it when they wanted to dance around the living room and freak out, and express all this energy,” he says, cheerfully adding that “It’s just kind of been keeping one foot in front of the other since then!”

Devaney’s personality matches the music- it's laid back and pensive, serving up a deep philosophy but doing it amicably. His ruminations on the reasons for the band’s success and the appeals of their sound seem to just effortlessly come to him, as though he’s remembering a fun fact rather than saying something profound.

With three albums in just over three years, I was curious as to whether Devaney felt that their music was evolving. Did he believe there was much of a difference between their breakout sound and more recent releases? How do they keep an old sound from going stale?

“With each record we’re trying to both keep a hand on what feels like the core of how the band started, but also push out the boundaries with the other hand” he says after a moment of thought.

He believes that this process keeps the sound fresh- though the songs are entirely different from one another, the synth “imbues tracks that might not otherwise feel like an 80s new-wave song with a bit of that energy”. This creates a distinct sound throughout their discography, while every track remains unique- something Devaney describes as a “connecting thread through all the records.”

Like many Brooklyn natives Devaney has Irish connections, and although his grandparents hail from Mayo, he does not begrudge Dublin. He rates it 5/5 as a place to gig, first performing in The Button Factory in April 2022.

“I remember the first time we came to play a show there. Whenever you go to a place for the first time, you don’t really know what to expect- but the energy from the crowd was amazing.” Returning to a sold-out Whelan’s in December of the same year, the crowd’s energy is still at the forefront of Devaney’s mind, with him describing the emotion of the experience as something akin to a homecoming.

The trio will return to Dublin on August 27 to support Indie Rockers Gossip at the Collins Barracks, alongside SPRINTS. The show comes as a part of their upcoming tour of Europe, and marks their first time supporting Gossip- but however nervous he may be, Devaney asserts that he gets a rush from the challenge.

“It feels kind of intimidating as a front person to be playing the same show as Gossip,” he admits, “but I love rising to an occasion, and feeling like I have to kind of hold my own.”

It’s clear that Devaney is looking forward to the experience. “It keeps you kind of grounded” he says, “Being reminded that there are people who are sort of like, who the hell is this? And you get to say, well, I’ll show you!”

“Opening for people is something we don’t really do as much anymore, but it’s something that I do really enjoy. I really like that feeling that you’re trying to prove yourself, which is something I’ve spent most of my musical life doing.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Nation of Language (@nationoflanguage)

The Dublin show will be stop number 12 on their 18-date tour of Europe- an excursion that will see Nation of Language on the road for the guts of a month. As anyone who’s ever been on a group holiday knows, tension is usually ready to boil over by day 4, but Devaney is confident they can avoid any big clashes.

He believes their familiarity and chemistry is the main reason there hasn't been any falling outs. He points out that almost everyone in the crew has lived with another member at some point: “Aidan and I are married, there’s Alex, Alex’s brother, and Alex’s Brother’s roommate”, he explains, adding that it keeps it a family affair.

“We love touring, to the point where sometimes it feels stranger to be home. It really helps that the three of us, our sound engineer, tour manager and lighting designer are such a tight crew of people.”

• Nation Of Language play the Collins Barracks in Dublin on August 27.

`

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Nation of Language (@nationoflanguage)