Photo by Rita Iovine
It’d been a minute since I last interviewed Brooklyn’s finest neo new wave group, Nation of Language. They would probably disapprove of being classified as such, but for the sake of those first being introduced to Nation I would say neo new wave gives you a decent gist of their sound, just don’t ask them to cover The Smith’s because they won’t. Since I last spoke with them in June ’18, they have released a new single, played with the synth-pop masters Holy Ghost! a handful of times, are about to embark on tour this Spring supporting Adam Green and are sitting on a record that has been highly anticipated for over a year now. I wanted to more or less fill the gap from the last time we spoke in an interview-style setting and allow them to address what they’d like their fans to know while steering the conversation a bit. So prior to their December show at The Broadway we discussed the new album, their new single “The Motorist” as well as the vinyl-only b-side “Sacred Tongue,” their upcoming tour, band methodology and Halloween costumes.
The last time I talked to you guys like this it was over a year and a half ago after “Reality” came out at Alphaville and you all had just finished your Italian tour. Since then you’ve played with Holy Ghost!, released a single, and have been working on an album.
Ian Devaney: A lot going on.
Yeah is there anything you guys particularly really want to let the world know right away?
Aidan Noell: We could talk about the fact that we have an album coming out.
Ian: Yeah, I mean we don’t know exactly when. Right now we’ve just been finishing up artwork things. I’ve learned with albums that every time you think you’re done, there are several more things that you have to do. But I’m just really excited to let people have it and experience it on their own and let the songs become theirs because I feel like I’ve been sitting on it for so long and I’ve written so much since then.
I thought about “Sacred Tongue” and those, that it sounded a lot more… kind of developed like it would be on an album rather than the novelty sound of…
Ian: Like a single.
Yeah, like of “Chicago” and “Normal Man” really. They have that, single feeling to it.
Aidan: The hooks.
How do “Sacred Tongue” or “The Motorist” relate to your discography at the moment?
Ian: Meaning-wise I feel like “Sacred Tongue” is one of the more almost straight up romantic songs that we have. Usually there’s some kind of bad element to any Nation of Language song.
Aidan: Pessimistic.
Ian: Pessimistic, yeah. And I guess there is some pessimism in “Sacred Tongue.” But I thought it’d be nice to have just, a nice song. Yeah, there is actually a good amount of pessimism in there. [“Sacred Tongue”] is about when romance messes you up in your mind but you’re okay with it. At least that’s a theme of it. And “The Motorist” is born up what a lot of Nation of Language songs are born out of. Which is kind of existential malaise about important people or moments in your life and how those aren’t going to come back. You can try to recreate them but it’s never going to be exactly how it was…
Very nostalgic.
Ian: Yeah, having to try to accept that and just figure out what’s next. I guess that more of the album is really in that direction than I realized when making it. Which is interesting to me. Which I’m still trying to figure out, there just must have been The show you had at the Sultan Room seemed to me like your biggest show, at least New York-wise. How was that for you?
Aidan: It was a surprise. I mean there were a lot of people there that we didn’t know. Leading up to it most of our friends were saying, “Oh, I’m sorry I’ll be out of town” or “I have to work.” And we were totally bummed.
Ian: “Is anyone going to come to this show?” And then I show up and there are all these people and they know the words.
I felt like that was a really special night.
Ian: Definitely. It’s funny, sometimes you’re just playing and you can step outside of yourself and be like “this is a special moment in the life of being in a band.” There’s some kind of energy going on in this room. Everybody wants to be here with each other and it feels very…
Aidan: Communal.
Ian: Yeah, communal.
They were all very captivated.
Aidan: That’s what you hope for.
Ian: For sure.
When you guys prepare for a show, do you plan anything out? A lot of people I’ve talked to say they really really got into your music after seeing you live. Do you really put a lot of emphasis on that when you’re practicing or does it just come naturally, what you guys do on stage?
Ian: I mean we don’t practice nearly enough.
Aidan: But when we do practice it’s mechanical practice. You know, it’s not like emotive practice. Performing just brings that.
(To Ian) So you aren’t running around while…?
Aidan: He usually sings into a pillow so that he can sing as loud as he wants and so that our neighbors can’t hear because our neighbors can definitely hear. Like we hear this guy sneezing next door all the time through the wall.
Ian: If I’m just rippin’ into some song he can definitely. Which I think about every time I record at home. I’m like “Everyone’s listening to me!” as I sing the same chorus sixteen times and try to get it right and they must hate me so much.
Aidan: And I think that part of practicing in our apartment is that we can’t really wail.
Ian: Yeah that’s true we have to basically plug everything in and then just turn it down. So then when you do get on stage everything is huge and loud and let’s you just do…
You said a similar thing about when you played “Gouge Away” by Pixies live for the first time.
Ian: Yeah exactly! The first time I heard it out loud really was on stage while I was doing it.
Aidan: That’s true.
Why that song for the first song you guys cover?
Aidan: I’ve always wanted to.
Ian: Well, you’ve always wanted to cover, something.
Aidan: Yeah.
Ian: People come to us all the time like “Oh, you should cover “blank.”” But it’s always so on-the-nose.
Aidan: Like you should cover this song by The Smiths.
Ian: Yeah you should cover Depeche Mode or, which I would want to do one day.
Aidan: It’s too soon.
Ian: Right now I don’t want to pigeonhole myself into one thing. Like, yes, new wave is a huge influence on our sound but I don’t I don’t want to be a caricature of it. And I want to leave the road in front of me open to do whatever the hell I want. Yeah, “Gouge Away” is one of my favorite songs, so, when she suggested it I was like “you know what?”
Aidan: It can be done.
Ian: That’s not a new wave song. I’ve always wanted to, and never have, fully sung out that chorus, it just seemed so like…
Aidan: Powerful.
Ian: Yeah, powerful. Raw. So I was like, I think I could do a bleep bloop version of “Gouge Away.” It just got me … well I’ve worked on covers for myself and I usually sort of fall off from it and never finish. But with that song, it was like “Oh! I can do this and – ” it was just engaging for me. Playing it live I was excited to do it, which I hadn’t been excited about playing most other covers that I had thought of.
It seems like you’re pretty thoughtful and methodical about what you do as a band. There are so many bands that play you know, once a week or three times a month. You all really space it out, is that a conscious thing? Is there reasoning for what you are doing at all times as a band?
Ian: As far as performing, I ideally would perform every day.
Aidan: But it wouldn’t be in the same place to the same people every day.
Ian: Right. Sometimes I do want to play more frequently. But I also like going into each show feeling like this is an event, I’m not just going to go through the motions tonight. I haven’t done this in a little bit and I’m longing for it. I think even when you’re playing every day on tour you do get that because you’re in a new place.
Yeah these are new faces.
Ian: Yeah the amount we play is a little less methodical than the other aspects of the band maybe but it is still thought out to a degree.
I guess you’re kind of looking forward to that with the tour with Adam Green?
Ian: Oh yeah.
Aidan: For sure, can’t wait.
What are some of the cities you’re most excited about?
Aidan: We haven’t played in Montreal before.
Ian: I really would love to go to Canada as a person who’s not in a band on tour. Only because every time I’ve ever-
Aidan: Tried to cross the border
Ian: It’s always been a pain in the ass.
Aidan: We got stopped on our way to Vancouver for like an hour because they were checking out our vehicle because we were like, being honest. We were like oh, “There’s some merch in the car.”
Ian: Like “We’re not going to sell it, we’re going to leave it in the car. I swear I’m not trying to defraud the Canadian Government.” And they didn’t believe me.
Aidan: But I am excited to play Canada. I am excited to play Montreal I think they’ll dig it.
Ian: I want to be there. I’m just not looking forward to getting there.
Aidan: What other cities are even on the?
Ian: I mean, we’ve never played Illinois.
Aidan: Oh yeah that’ll be fun. And the time in between when we’re playing with them, we’re hoping to play Kansas City again, which I love to play in my hometown. So that’ll be good.
And I saw that Glove is going to be-
Aidan: In the same cities! In Portland and Seattle those nights.
Ian: I’m so excited. Like we have to get dinner or something.
Aidan: I said, “Let’s have slumber parties.”
Yeah they’re really great.
Aidan: And we love to play L.A.. We’ve never played The Bootleg in L.A. so it’ll be fun.
Yeah how have the L.A. shows been going?
Aidan: Really good. We have a lot of friends in L.A. Some former members of Nation of Language live in L.A.
Ian: Yeah, many. It caused a crisis for a little while. But just (referring to the tour dates) all of them. Just being able to be out and in front of new people. But in a city like Moline, which we’ve never played before, I always really like getting to kind of be there and see what that’s like.
Aidan: And I love Adam, can’t wait to see how his audience receives us I hope they’re open to it….
Ian: We met them because we recorded at the studio where they were at the time working. But then through our manager we really got to know them and that they started bringing us out for things. And just opening up the idea of what we think is possible. He’s the one who’s like “We’re making seven inches.” And now we’re making another round of seven inches. Kind of just pushing us to always look forward and think bigger and keep going.
Aidan: And to value ourselves, which is really sick.
Ian: (Laughs) That’s true.
Aidan: We definitely don’t think in that way, we’re like whatever we’ll do anything. Zero dollars? Doesn’t matter. I’m down, I’m down, I’m down.
Ian: He’s like, “You’re worth something. You understand that right?” (Laughs)
Aidan: Which is nice to hear.
Manager, slash therapist.
Ian: “You have value.”
That about exhausts all of my talking points. Well, I had some goofy questions — but that was just if there was a lot of dead air.
Ian: I’m curious to hear them.
I was gong to ask what you guys were for Halloween.
Aidan: Oh! Ian’s costume was stellar. He was Alan Jackson.
Ian: Oh, that’s funny. I was two things for Halloween.
Aidan: Oh, that’s true!
Ian: One was Alan Jackson, the country singer.
Aidan: But he was also David Byrne.
Ian: What’s great is I don’t think I’ve listened to Alan Jackson in my life.
Aidan: (Laughing) But Ian got blue jeans.
Ian: (Laughing) Yeah I got blue jeans, and I, so I haven’t worn blue jeans in twelve years and I got them and I look in the mirror and I’m like, “I look like I’m in The Clash.” And she goes, “You look like Alan Jackson. When we go to Kansas City for Halloween, on actual Halloween day, you’re going to be Alan Jackson.” – And I’m like, “I don’t know who that is, but okay.”
Aidan: My mom begged him to learn some Alan Jackson songs, so he was walking around all night.
Ian: There’s other old country men I know but I just don’t know Alan Jackson. But it was just great seeing people’s reactions to me when they realized who I was. We worked very hard to try to get the mustache color right. Yeah I had the guitar and I’m playing Simon and Garfunkel.
Aidan: Nobody cared. (Laughs)
Ian: (Laughing) Like, I only know a couple of songs on this so… Yeah and then for a Halloween party, I had been this once before, but I had put too much of myself into the costume to not recycle it and it had been like five years or something but I was David Byrne from “Stop Making Sense.” The party we were going to was eighties movie themed. And I was like, “Yo “Stop Making Sense” was made in the eighties, so…”
Aidan: He was obviously the best costume there, people were like “Holy shit man!”
Ian: I didn’t know if people would get it but people did get it. But yeah when I first thought of it a number of years ago I was like, okay, I’m going to go to a thrift store. This is never going to work, what are the odds there’s going to be like an off-white or grey XXL suit? And it was right there on the end of a rack and I was like yes. And I took it to a tailor to you know, shorten it up in various ways.
Oh wow, you went all out.
Ian: Yeah, I mean the suit itself was like ten bucks or something? So I had some license to put work into it. But I just had to figure out how to stuff my body full of more…
Aidan: Yeah he wrapped up like fifteen white t-shirts and put it under and taped it to his body.
Ian: Yeah I had put like a bulletproof vest of rolled up t-shirts, I’d throw that on, then the button up shirt on, and then the giant white jacket.
I think he would be proud.
Ian: I hope so. I worked hard. Halloween’s not even, it’s not my thing. I don’t care about Halloween.
Hot take.
Ian: People really don’t like that. So I usually keep that to myself.
Aidan: I really hate that. I love Halloween.
What were you?
Aidan: I, well, at that Halloween party I was a dying soldier from Platoon.
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