Nation Of Language share Miss Grit remix of 'Too Much, Enough'
Nation of Language
Share Miss Grit remix of ‘Too Much, Enough’
Listen HERE
Watch the original video HERE
Starring Jimmi Simpson, Reggie Watts, Kevin Morby, Tomberlin, and more
EU/UK Tour this Autumn, including London’s HEAVEN
New album Strange Disciple
out 15th September 2023 via [PIAS]
Named within Pitchfork’s Most Anticipated Albums of 2023
On 15th September 2023, Nation of Language will release new album Strange Disciple via PIAS, one of the “most anticipated albums of summer” (Pitchfork), which has delivered some of the “best songs of 2023 so far” (LA Times).
Filled with soaring melodies and towering vocal performances, propulsive grooves and bouncing basslines, the record expands the Brooklyn trio’s new wave, post-punk and synth-powered sound with a newfound and frenetic fervor, as each of the ten songs explore themes of toxic infatuation, unhealthy obsessions and hopeless devotion. On latest single 'Too Much, Enough', the band takes aim at the outrage-baiting, anxiety-inducing and totally exhausting barrage of the 24-hour news cycle. From the exhilarating, ricocheting arrangement to the unforgettable call-and-response that punctuates the chorus, the track is an immediate standout of Strange Disciple, arriving alongside a satirical music video starring Emmy-nominated actor Jimmi Simpson (Westworld, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Reggie Watts, Kevin Morby, Tomberlin, Adam Green, Ruby Wolf and many more.
Today, Nation of Language welcome forthcoming tourmate Miss Grit into the fold, with a remix transforming ‘Too Much, Enough’ into a simmering journey that shifts from sparse to explosive, and is accented with the type of affecting harmonies that line their recent debut album, Follow the Cyborg.
Listen to ‘Too Much, Enough’ (Miss Grit Remix) HERE
“It was actually pretty hard trying to reimagine a track from a band where every song sounds like perfection to me,” says Miss Grit. “I just wanted to add in more of what their music already makes me feel. And this song in particular is so playful, I wanted to add to the fun.”
Between the incessant news cycle described on ‘Too Much, Enough’, to the romance and addictive patterns that singer Ian Devaney illustrates on 'Sole Obsession', 'Weak In Your Light', 'Stumbling Still', and the rest of of the album, Strange Disciple finds Nation of Language telling transient stories about temptation, guilt, and the inexplicable joy of being pained by one's own passionate fixations. Following the band’s previous LP, A Way Forward – named one of the Greatest Synth-Pop Albums of All Time by Paste – Strange Disciple is the third album in a triptych that has unfolded over the past three years. As the band has continued to evolve, the common denominator has been a restless urge to embrace progress, exploration and forward motion, and singer Ian Devaney imagines the sound of Nation of Language’s three LPs as different ways of moving through and experiencing through the world. Whereas 2020’s pandemic-era debut, Introduction, Presence, took place in a car, with a blurry euphoria reminiscent of road trips, and 2021's A Way Forward occurred on and as a locomotive, inspired by the minimal chug of krautrock, Strange Disciple is the band’s visceral and wayfarer record, informed by wondrous walks on foot.
Produced by Nick Millhiser (Holy Ghost!, LCD Soundsystem), and completed during the time Nation of Language spent at home in between runs of live shows, Strange Disciple also sees the band incorporating creative choices that are most compelling to perform on-stage, using more live drums and guitar than ever before. On the heels of “an excellent showing at Pitchfork Music Festival” (Stereogum), as well as stellar sets at Primavera, Outside Lands and more this summer, the band is about to return to the road for nearly 50 additional tour dates across the EU, UK and US, with support from Miss Grit in the US.
After a triumphant, headline performance at a packed Brooklyn Steel this spring, Nation of Language kick off their fall run with another momentous hometown show, this time at Rockefeller Center on 9th September, where they will headline Rough Trade’s iNDIEPLAZA Festival. The band will also head back to LA to play The Roxy Theatre on 28th October, after an incredible night at The Fonda Theatre recently. Find the full list of upcoming dates below and tickets at nationoflanguage.com/events.
Strange Disciple out 15th September via [PIAS]
Pre-order HERE
Nation of Language Tour Dates
7/9 - Baltimore, MD - WTMD's First Thursday Festival
9/9 - New York, NY - Rough Trade & Rockefeller Center Present iNDIEPLAZA
15/9 - Berlin, DE - Astra (UPGRADED)
16/9 - Hamburg, DE - Uebel & Gefährlich
17/9 - Malmo, SE - Plan B
18/9 - Copenhagen, DK - Pumpehuset
20/9 - Kӧln, DE - Gebäude9
21/9 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
22/9 - Brussels, BE - Orangerie
23/9 - Paris, FR - Trabendo
25/9 - Tourcoing, FR - Le Grand Mix
27/9 - London, UK - HEAVEN
28/9 - Brighton, UK - Concorde 2
29/9 - Bristol, UK - Marble Factory
30/9 - Nottingham, UK - Rescue Rooms
4/10 - Manchester, UK - New Century
5/10 - Leeds, UK - Stylus
6/10 - Sheffield, UK - Foundry
7/10 - Newcastle, UK - Boiler Shop
13/10 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Small's Theatre#
14/10 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop#
15/10 - Chicago, IL - Metro#
16/10 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon#
18/10 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall#
19/10 - St. Paul, MN - Amsterdam Bar & Hall#
20/10 - Kansas City, MO - RecordBar#
22/10 - Denver, CO - Gothic#
23/10 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge#
25/10 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent#
26/10 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent#
29/10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy#
29/10 - San Diego, CA - Belly Up Tavern#
30/10 - Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom#
2/11 - Austin, TX - Scoot Inn#
3/11 - Fort Worth, TX - Tulips FTX#
4/11 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall - Upstairs#
7/11 - Nashville, TN - Basement East#
8/11 - Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle#
9/11 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle#
10/11 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer#
11/11 - Washington, DC - The Atlantis#
30/11 - Boston, MA - The Sinclair#
1/12 - Montreal, QC - Studio TD#
2/12 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix#
# w/ Miss Grit
Tickets available HERE
Strange Disciple
out 15th September 2023 via [PIAS]
Pre-order HERE
Tracklisting
1. Weak In Your Light
2. Sole Obsession
3. Surely I Can't Wait
4. Swimming in the Shallow Sea
5. Too Much, Enough
6. Spare Me the Decision
7. Sightseer
8. Stumbling Still
9. A New Goodbye
10. I Will Never Learn
About Nation Of Language:
Three years on from the release of their unexpectedly self-assured debut album, Nation of Language have attracted a rapidly growing, international audience via their danceable and impassioned take on new wave and post-punk traditions. Their hopeful music—marked by soaring melodies, blinking synth lines, and frontman Ian Devaney’s towering voice—is a ray of light in an era of anxiety, cynicism, hatred, and snark. A fervent sound has continued to evolve across two subsequent albums, but the common denominator is an unmistakable quality of movement: the pulse from their keyboards is heady and propulsive, and their lyrics teem with the restlessness and romanticism intrinsic to life in concrete jungles. The trio’s bustling Brooklyn home has continued to serve as a backdrop to their creativity, the end product permeating with an urgency to embrace progress, exploration, and forward motion.
Those who have seen Nation of Language perform have witnessed Ian Devaney, Aidan Noell, and Alex MacKay bounce around the stage with seemingly endless energy as they dot the globe. These days, they’re packing venues with increasing frequency throughout the year, and becoming mainstays of massive summer music events such as Governors Ball, Austin City Limits, Desert Daze, Pitchfork Festival, Primavera Sound and Outside Lands. Following the critical acclaim of both their 2020 debut album Introduction, Presence and its 2021 follow-up A Way Forward, the band have made their late-night TV debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last year, and now head into their next chapter.
Nation of Language’s forthcoming third album Strange Disciple fits neatly into this theory of motion. Devaney has come to view this first trio of LPs as a sort of triptych, with each album relating to differing modes of transportation. He imagines the first (Introduction, Presence) takes place in a car, with a blurry euphoria reminiscent of road trips and song titles like “Automobile” and “The Motorist.” The follow up (A Way Forward) occurs on (and as) a locomotive, influenced by the minimal chug of krautrock. So it’s only fitting that their latest full-length Strange Disciple is their wayfarer album, best experienced with one’s own two-feet on the ground and informed by walks through various cities while on tour or within their home base of New York City.
Also new to their creative process, live shows have begun to play an important role in the formation of this new set of songs, as the band was able to see the drastic range of audience reaction to their music firsthand from their first waves of on-again/off-again pandemic era touring. ““Suddenly in 2021 to our surprise the rooms were full of people,” Devaney says “and roughly half of those showing up wanted to dance while the other half wanted to cry. It’s a bit of a tightrope act to satisfy both feelings at once, but the most beautiful thing in the world to us is that all parties made the perfect amount of space for one another to be able to do whichever felt right to them. To be able to keep the live environment palatable to both groups has become the goal moving forward". As they prepare to play for as many people as possible in the year ahead, their swift rise is still something they’re getting used to. As Devaney elaborates, “Other than on a hyper-local level, for a number of years we were such an unknown band that being unknown naturally became our default mental setting. This time around, I’m told repeatedly that there’s people waiting to both hear and see the new music... and yet I still can’t quite grasp the concept that either one is true. I see the dates on the calendar and at times it feels like it must be somebody else’s band”.
Strange Disciple was recorded in the East Williamsburg studio of producer Nick Millhiser (live member of LCD Soundsystem and also one half of Holy Ghost!), with a commitment to keeping the process as rooted in analog gear as possible and printing the tracks to tape. Leaning into a world of limits and surprises—much like a live show—the process allowed the band to accept imperfections and resist the inclination to overthink their songcraft.
The sonic direction of Strange Disciple was guided by the album’s lead single ‘Sole Obsession’, as well as ‘Spare Me the Decision’ and ‘Sightseer’, all loosely groove-driven songs that deviate from the straightforward drive of A Way Forward. “The bass parts have more of a groove and a bounce that signalled being on your feet and out on the street,” Devaney says. As their bass lines became more playful and ambulatory, they also relied more on the electric guitar, which had largely been a background element up until this point. Channelling their love of shoegaze, the unhurried, distorted “Swimming in the Shallow Sea” is their most guitar-centric track yet, ‘Surely I Can’t Wait’ blossoms out of a crafty, circling guitar groove, and ‘Stumbling Still’ sneaks in some wah-wah guitar and live drums amidst its kraut-punk clamour. But perhaps the most glaring strums on Strange Disciple come from the zany bass line of ‘Too Much Enough’, which seductively contorts with a fun-loving wink during the song’s unforgettable chorus.
‘Too Much Enough’ planted another important seed in the album process—the song is about watching the news on TV and the feeling of “taking in so much media that your brain goes into constant outrage mode,” as Devaney explains. This song, along with ‘Sole Obsession’—a track about an overzealous devotee from which the album gets its title—embody this record’s focus on unhealthy infatuations and obsessions, or as Devaney puts it, “revelatory anguish”. Strange Disciple’s album cover is a Christian Little painting of an absurd monk-like figure who’s in agony and ecstasy over their dedication to something. In an age of stan culture and political demagogues, not only is this theme a timely one, it also taps into something bigger—the idea that feeling something is better than nothing, even if the source is damaging. “Sometimes when I feel the most is when I feel hopelessly devoted to something or someone,” Devaney explains.
Most of Strange Disciple’s toxic infatuation manifests in relation to romance. Devaney drew inspiration from Leonard Cohen’s ability to imbue love songs with dark twists of the knife, resulting in these melodramatic—almost operatic—tales, which Devaney describes as a “quasi-fictional amalgam”. ‘Weak In Your Light’ opens the album with their most forthright and pure admission of adoration to date, and as the LP progresses, the narrator fluctuates between obsession and shame. But by the album’s closer ‘I Will Never Learn’, that narrator is fully broken, having reached their wits’ end but still unable to free themselves, restarting the addictive cycle from the top.
Strange Disciple is a spiritual, searching record, as we follow a bumpy journey of self-exploration, stumbling on moments of clarity and wisdom and then getting tripped up again. Ultimately, it suggests that we shouldn't shy away from the brief pain necessary to make much-needed change in our lives, especially when it grants reprieve from longtime pain that we’ve grown comfortable with. However, it doesn’t paint these ideas in matter-of-fact terms, instead leaning on artful, transient vignettes of characters caught in the crosshairs of temptation, guilt, and reverie, as their obsessions both fuel and eat away at them.
Strange Disciple is an invitation to both celebrate and mourn, find yourself and lose yourself, reflect on one’s infatuations and perhaps even form new ones with these songs—as long as you’re feeling and as long as you’re on the move, whether that’s physically, emotionally, or mentally. After all, three albums deep, Nation of Language still have new horizons to explore, and several cars, trains, and planes to catch.
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