Dance Called Memory, by Nation of Language

Dance Called Memory

by Nation of Language

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opulentossuary Wistful and upbeat at the same time! I love this album. Favorite track: Silhouette.

Gary Figueroa Off-kilter and yet melodic. I dig the song because of its challenging phrasing, ghosted vox, and subtle syncopation. Brilliant for all that melds into a cohesive whole synth-pop song. Great album, too. I love the LPs cover art very much! - @daFigz™ Favorite track: I'm Not Ready for the Change.

emmahums Don't know if I will ever take it off repeat... Nation of Language does it again with their lush synths, bass and vocals. Favorite track: I'm Not Ready for the Change.

James Ingles Fantastic evolution of their sound! I was hooked on them from the 1st album and it’s parallels to late 70’s / early 80’s synthpop and they’ve just built from there, but this album feels like a distinct growth since the last while still being accessible / true to what I loved about them to begin with. Top notch and the vinyl sounds amazing!

DW Hard to pick a favourite here. NoL just go from strength to strength. Every track is just everything I'd hoped it would be; big, wide chord progressions, dream-like soundscapes with ethereal tints to many tracks ... and with the whole thing wrapped in a hard-to-describe sense of intimacy and closeness. Just sublime ear-candy.

Thank you folks! Favorite track: In Another Life.

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1.	Can't Face Another One 03:52	lyrics	buy track
Laid bare, and now the cost I can trace the one I lost In chalk Upon the avenue The day’s begun I can’t face another one But on and on they come I don’t wanna break my fall I don’t wanna break my fall If I’d been aware of what I’d done Could I stop myself Can I stop my palms, upturned From shaking in the dark? The memories run I can’t pause a single one And they prey upon my heart I don’t wanna break my fall I don’t wanna break my fall No No No No Break my fall Break my fall Break my fall Break my fall I don’t wanna break my fall I don’t wanna break my fall
2.	In Another Life 03:49	lyrics	buy track
Love, love What a waste of time Oversold But you know It gets real low, gets real low When you go It gets real low, gets real low Ah, You know me better Think I’d better Walk among the clones I think I’ll come undone I’ll crumble Oh oh In another life I tell myself But you know It gets real low, gets real low When you go It gets real low, gets real low Ah You know me better Think I’d better Walk among the clones I think I’ll come undone I’ll crumble When you come around Finally When you come around Finally Love, love What a waste of time I tell myself But you know It gets real low, gets real low When you go It gets real low, gets real low You know It gets real low, gets real low Go It gets real low, gets real low
3.	Silhouette 03:50	lyrics	buy track
Well, I could pretend to engage But I’m in chains Is it time to let go? So feeble a smile Is it time to let go? Silhouette on the wall Give yourself up I know it’s you I know you’re there Once again Well, I can try To do impressions of myself From before it went wrong I can try and I’ll try and I’ll try and I’ll try and I’ll try Wait, don’t desert us Wait, don’t desert us all Can’t look to myself anymore (I can feel you) Wait, don’t desert us Wait, don’t desert us all Silhouette on the wall Give yourself up I know it’s you I know you’re there Silhouette on the wall Give yourself up I know it’s you I can feel you there I can feel you there Silhouette on the wall Give yourself up I know it’s you I know you’re there Silhouette on the wall Give yourself up I know it’s you And if I can’t stand one more night I’ll remember the deal I feel you walking with me (Silhouette on the wall) I feel you walking with me (Silhouette on the wall) Give yourself up I know it’s you
4.	Now That You're Gone 05:04	lyrics	buy track
Through the walls Whispering goodbye You’ve run Out of time Sensing ourselves Among, finely obscured The words I don’t want to say to myself I’ll stumble on But what is there for us? Now that you’re gone I’m so afraid Through they walk Shaking and tongue-tied You’re off toward Brighter light Sensing ourselves Among, finely obscured The words I don’t want to say to myself No I’ll stumble on But what is there for us? Now that you’re gone I’m so afraid I watched you write to formalize What I forgot, I forgot Laughed as you said the fold-away’s Enough Wind, pull me outside You’ve run Out of time Sensing ourselves Among, finely obscured The words, ah I don’t want to say to myself No I’ll stumble on But what is there for us? Now that you’re gone I’m so afraid Now that you’re gone I’m so afraid
5.	I'm Not Ready for the Change 04:47 video	lyrics	buy track
Evening turning dark Bursting from the car Tail-light-red and laundromat White across the tar Fireflies in waves Feelings come unstuck Why is it funny every time I try to open up Look, all I know Is I’m on the floor again Pressed beneath my skin And I’m not ready for the change Push me to the wall Hand against my face Sing to me what I’m thinking An unlimited wellspring of pleasure and pain Cling to my wrist now, darling Movies through the winter days Pirouette in the living room in summer Swore we had the time and space Just think of me We’ll say it’s a start But first things first I’ll fall apart Sure of what I was Wrong in every way Grasping for the pieces I had hold of yesterday Look, all I know Is I’m on the floor again Pressed beneath my skin And I’m not ready for the change Look, all I want Is someone to fall into Catch this faithless frame I’m not ready for the change I’m not ready for the change I’m not ready for the change I’m not ready for the change I’m not ready for the change
6.	Can You Reach Me? 04:17	lyrics	buy track
Lord, I’m in complete retreat Serendipity has frowned on me Didn’t know It was possible Recollection of the smallest scene In a drawer of all the old receipts That I got That I just couldn’t toss Turn me around Come alive Find me a way Northern lights Terminally Close with ease I struggle to find The borderline Catatonic on the 7 train Stuck living in symphonic pain I don’t know How to make it stop Celebration is a bitter thing Television is replete with dreams I don’t want Another punishment The hours Count ‘em all Can’t turn it off But it hurts to get along In the dive bars With the backyards I hope you’re not alone Shout me down The worst you’ll never know Wherefore art thou Don’t carry on like that It’s been months now Will you ever come back Turn me around (Wherefore art thou) Come alive (Don’t carry on like that) Find me a way (It’s been months now) Northern lights (Will you ever come back) Terminally (Wherefore art thou) Close with ease (Don’t carry on like that) I struggle to find (It’s been months now) The borderline (Will you ever come back) Maybe I’ve been stalling (Wherefore art thou) Maybe wasting our lives (Don’t carry on like that) But I fall short with sorry (It’s been months now) Can you reach me?
7.	Inept Apollo 04:01 video	lyrics	buy track
The debris, the decay There’s little left to follow So I said that I won’t come over Turn to me, turn away Just an Inept Apollo And you’re so far away from me How many miles ago? A dream that fell Lamented in the morning glow Embraced and left alone How many miles ago? Unbreak the spell I still remember how it was before For once in our lives Wish they’d cut that out Wish they’d drop that knife In the peep show parking lot Fake-love truck stop in which they lie Turn to see, turn away There’s nothing at the bottom And you’re so far away from me How many miles ago? A dream that fell Lamented in the morning glow Embraced and left alone How many miles ago? Unbreak the spell I still remember how it was before Darling, don’t forget my love Darling, don’t forget my love Darling, don’t forget Turn to me, turn away And you’re so far away from me
8.	Under the Water 03:28	lyrics	buy track
Wait, can I stay? Wasn’t assuming But I knew what you might say Oh, you know the days are getting longer Now I feel it under the water I’m around Might we have a talk? Lightning in position Diving further down, down, down Set it down Lightly on the bed Bound in inhibition Diving further down, down, down Down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down Down, down Worse for the wear I’m not trying to be anything That I’m not, my dear Oh, you know this feeling’s getting stronger Can you feel it under the water? I’m around Might we have a talk? Lightning in position Diving further down, down, down Set it down Lightly on the bed Timing’s such an issue Diving further down, down, down Down, down, down, down Down, down, down Down down, down down Down down Down, down, down, down (Down down, down down) Down, down, down Down down (Down down, down down)
9.	In Your Head 04:56	lyrics	buy track
Rain coming on And I’m hanging on the line Where we talked, oh (Say) say (say) what you want But I’m dying on the vine Certifiable Everything else I know (oh) Everything since hello (oh, oh) Somehow swallowed Rain coming on And I’m hanging on the line A simple sideshow In your head Calling out, caving in In your head Calling out Sand in the snow and ice Tremble at the price It’s a tidal pull (Waves) waves (waves) of the loss Arise, churning deep inside In the hollows In your head Calling out, caving in In your head Calling out, caving in In your head Calling out, caving in In your head Calling out, caving in The cut cord The fixation and the shame I got every little thing I wanted And yet still I had to take And there’s you You transcend into a song Another quiet night for the ones you love And another rough day for you While they look on They could pretend if they wanted They could pretend that they want to know In your head Calling out, caving in In your head Calling out, caving in It’s caving in
10.	Nights of Weight 03:21 video	lyrics	buy track
Nights of weight Ah I’m aflame now Music from inside Draws your shape in my mind Fixing our eyes on the door It’s never closed I want to know you know I’ll follow not far behind Go Forth, away, far out Trials await us I can’t handle your silence Used to be comforting, long ago Fixing our eyes on the door It’s never closed I want to know you know I’ll follow not far behind Go

about

Synthpop, minimal wave, post-punk, goth, new romantic — fans and critics alike have dug deeply into their vintage thesauruses to describe the beguiling work of Nation of Language. And if you can’t precisely define the band, that’s the point. Frontman Ian Richard Devaney has become prodigious in expanding what synthesizer-driven music can evoke, such that his output is as much an extrasensory journey as it is an all-too-human destination. With that experience in mind, he wrote the band’s fourth album — the spectral, spacious Dance Called Memory — in the most humble of ways: chipping away at melancholia by sitting around and strumming his guitar. “It’s a great way to distract yourself,” he says, “when you are depressed.”

Nation of Language’s first two albums, Introduction, Presence (2020), and A Way Forward (2021), came as pandemic godsends: gorgeous, relatable soundtracks to our collective doldrums. But it was their last LP, Strange Disciple (2023), that catapulted the group from cultural standouts to critical darlings, with the album being named Rough Trade’s Album of the Year. With that release, Pitchfork wrote that the band “are learning what it means to get bigger and better.”

This is Devaney’s calling: soulfully translating individual despair into a comforting, collective mourning. This uncannily pervades the album. The single “Now That You’re Gone,” which radiates and reverberates with a devastating wistfulness, was inspired by witnessing his godfather’s tragic death from ALS, and his parents’ role as caretakers for this ailing friend. “To be a caretaker — transforming your home into a kind of hospital wing and structuring your life around the dire needs of another — is such a difficult, powerful act of love and friendship,” Devaney says. “It’s made more difficult by our economic system that doesn’t seem to value this in any way commensurate with how hard it is.” At its heart, the song is a reflection of how friends can be there for each other, and also highlights a theme throughout the record: the pain and lost promise of friendships that fall apart.

This concept is echoed in the track “I’m Not Ready for the Change,” referencing the psychic dyspepsia that repeatedly reincarnates throughout our lives. Says Devaney: “I came across a photo from a party — it was filled with couples that were no longer together, friends who had gone their separate ways. It wasn’t from very long ago, but the sheer impossibility of such a gathering struck me in the heaviest way. Sometimes it feels like the pages of life’s book are turning faster than you can comprehend them.”

In approaching the recording of Dance Called Memory, the band once again collaborated with friend and Strange Disciple producer Nick Millhiser (LCD Soundsystem, Holy Ghost!). “What’s so great about working with Nick is his ability to make us feel like we don’t need to do what might be expected of us, or to chase any particular sound,” says synth player Aidan Noell, who, along with bass player Alex MacKay, rounds out the Nation of Language lineup. As a result, they imbued Dance Called Memory with a shifted palette — sampling chopped-up drum breaks on “I’m Not Ready for the Change” for a touch of Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine, or smashing all of the percussion of “In Another Life” through a synthesizer to cast a shade of early-2000s electronic music.

Ultimately, the hope was to weave raw vulnerability and humanity into a synth-heavy album. “There is a dichotomy between the Kraftwerk school of thought and the Brian Eno school of thought, each of which I’ve been drawn to at different points. I’ve read about how Kraftwerk wanted to remove all of the humanity from their music, but Eno often spoke about wanting to make synthesized music that felt distinctly human,” Devaney says. “As much as Kraftwerk is a sonically foundational influence, with this record I leaned much more towards the Eno school of thought. That this thing should be as unvarnished and warm as possible. In this era quickly being defined by the rise of AI supplanting human creators I’m focusing more on the human condition, and I need the underlying music to support that.”

Despite the heavy themes at its core, Devaney insists, “Instead of hopelessness, I want to leave the listener with a feeling of us really seeing one another, that our individual struggles can actually unite us in empathy.”

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