Today, Nation of Language has shared their latest single and video, “This Fractured Mind,” a song inspired by being mired in purposelessness and indecision before finally finding a path to self-acceptance.
WATCH VIDEO FOR “THIS FRACTURED MIND” HERE
Discussing “This Fractured Mind” songwriter/vocalist Ian Devaney stated, “After I dropped out of college I spent a number of years delivering pizzas and waiting tables while I lived at home and tried to get a music career going. One ends up spending a lot of time contending with unrealised dreams and feeling jealousy towards those who have moved on. There’s an inferiority complex that can set in, which if unchecked, can lead down a pretty bitter and self-destructive road. This is a song for driving down that road, as indecision and longing and regret cycle together into mania, until finally, at the end, quiet acceptance and peace wash over.
As for the recording itself… for those later movements, we messed around with tape machines, running things at different speeds and sometimes backwards, talking about William Basinksi’s ‘Disintegration Loops’ and trying to see how we could achieve a similarly somber, ethereal ambiance, but in a comparatively very small space. This one in particular serves as a good example of how, on the album as a whole, we wanted to find a balance between steady motorik endlessness and more spacious ambient moments.”
The single is featured on the band’s upcoming album, A Way Forward, due out November 5, and follows “Across That Fine Line” and “Wounds of Love.” Collectively, the two singles made Nation of Language the #1 most played band at KCRW and Top 5 most at KEXP last month, while earning praise at Stereogum, Paste, Consequence and more.
Building on the success and momentum of their debut record – Introduction, Presence – whose release during the darkest early days of COVID last spring did not stop it from earning glowing reviews at places such as Pitchfork and ultimately landing on ‘Best Of’ lists from Rough Trade, NME, Stereogum, Paste, Under The Radar, amongst others.
PRE-ORDER “A WAY FORWARD” HERE
With the pandemic putting so much on hold, Nation Of Language (Ian Devaney, with keyboardist Aidan Noell and bassist Michael Sue-Poi), decided to forge ahead and begin work on what would become A Way Forward. While much of the sounds on Introduction, Presence garnered comparisons to the synth-punk sound of the 80’s, with this new set of songs the band delved heavily into the Krautrock pioneers and electronic experimentalists of the 70’s for inspiration in the studio, stretching their boundaries in new and different ways. Production on the record was divided between Abe Seiferth (who worked on Introduction, Presence) and Nick Milhiser of Holy Ghost!
Nation Of Language have announced a January 2022 tour of the UK and EU including dates in London, Manchester, Dublin, Glasgow, and Leeds.
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE
Nation Of Language UK/EU Tour Dates:
10th Jan 2022 – Cologne @ YUCA
11th Jan 2022 – Antwerp @ TRIX Bar
12th Jan 2022 – Amsterdam @ Paradisio
14th Jan 2022 – Hamburg @ Turmzimmer
15th Jan 2022 – Copenhagen@ Ideal Bar
16th Jan 2022 – Stockholm @ Obaren
17th Jan 2022 – Oslo @ Bla
19th Jan 2022 – Berlin @ Kantine am Berghain
20th Jan 2022 – Zurich, CH @ Kater
22nd Jan 2022 – Barcelona, ES @ Laut
23rd Jan 2022 – Madrid @ Sala El Sol
25th Jan 2022 – Paris @ Supersonic
27th Jan 2022 – Leeds @ Hyde Park Book Club
28th Jan 2022 – Glasgow @ Broadcast
29th Jan 2022 – Dublin @ The Grand Social
30th Jan 2022 – Manchester @ YES Basement
31st Jan 2022 – London @ Lafayette
