Nation of Language – A Way Forward (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Nation of Language – A Way Forward (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 44:05 minutes | 852 MB | Genre: Electronic, New Wave, Synth-pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Play It Again Sam

A Way Forward is the follow up to Nation of Language’s debut album, Introduction, Presence (2020). While much of the sounds on the band’s previous record garnered comparisons to the synth-punk sound of the 80’s, on this new offering 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.

Discussing, Devaney added, “‘A Way Forward’ is an exploration of the band’s relationship to the music of the 70s, through the lenses of krautrock and early electronic music. We aimed to more deeply trace the roots of our sound, hoping to learn something from the early influences of our early influences. Experimenting with how they might be reinterpreted in our modern context – looking further backward to find a way forward. We drew a lot from the steady locomotive rhythms of bands like Kraftwerk and Neu!, while also looking to less-propulsive electronic artists like Laurie Spiegel and Cluster. The goal was to have a record that felt like a journey, like being on a train that gets lost in a colorful fog, and then suddenly bursts through into different landscapes. Thematically, some of those landscapes are familiar in their melancholy, but we also wanted to introduce celebration and joy in a way that hadn’t really been present in our previous album. Having these bursts of positivity felt like it gave the emotional low points more resonance, giving a stronger sense of emotional reality to the album overall.”

Recorded during the lockdowns of 2020, production on the record was divided between Abe Seiferth (who worked on Introduction, Presence) and Nick Milhiser of Holy Ghost!

After a few years of only being able to afford to release the occasional single, Nation of Language’s Ian Richard Devaney and Aidan Noell funded their 2020 debut Introduction, Presence with gift money from their wedding (even though, Devaney has said, “Nearly every person we asked this of politely implied it was a terrible idea or that we should go on a honeymoon instead”). When that record did well enough that they could have paid themselves back, the couple instead decided to almost immediately pour the money into a second album. A Way Forward was worth the investment—continuing to embrace the band’s love of ’80s synth-rock classics like OMD and A Flock of Seagulls, but also expanding. It all kicks off with “In Manhattan,” Noell’s Krautrock-style keyboards racing as if on the Autobahn, while Devaney’s vocals stay in the slow lane; the contrast is mesmerizing. “Wounds of Love” sounds like it could’ve been on the Pretty In Pink soundtrack (alongside OMD and Echo and the Bunnymen), all moody lyrics—”They say ‘walk it off’ but, in my heart/ I was never more than what you said” —and synth that bubbles forth like light waves refracted. Likewise, “Across That Fine Line” perfects the push-pull dynamics between verse and chorus. The Joe Jackson-style electronic drums and Michael Sue-Poi’s throbbing bass keep things steady while Noell’s keyboards roll in like a big wave. Indeed, Sue-Poi is a major force throughout, his rich bottom end surprisingly airy on the upbeat “Whatever You Want.” “A Word & A Wave” is alive, its deep pulse like a heartbeat. With Devaney’s vocals layered and a bit blanketed, pleasantly sleepy “Miranda” feels like a dream you can’t quite pull out of—until Noell’s bubbling-under synth turns into a pretty, aspirationally optimistic melody. On ballad “Former Self,” meanwhile, the keyboards are like steady rain, haunted by occasional background bleeps and beeps and a slightly industrial churn; it all ends with Devaney vocalizing “ahhhhhhhh” like a release valve. With its running-jog rhythm, churchy keys and catchy bass line—its attack so precise—”The Grey Commute” is irresistible. Finally, “They’re Beckoning” opens with a ticking clock nervousness before the ethereal, spacey synth washes in, only for the ticking to increase, maddening, before it merges into what sounds like the beginning of U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name” then eases into great, soaring vocals on the chorus. Surprising, and engaging. – Shelly Ridenour

Tracklist:
1-01. Nation of Language – In Manhattan (03:53)
1-02. Nation of Language – Across That Fine Line (05:25)
1-03. Nation of Language – Wounds of Love (03:19)
1-04. Nation of Language – Miranda (03:42)
1-05. Nation of Language – The Grey Commute (03:37)
1-06. Nation of Language – This Fractured Mind (05:20)
1-07. Nation of Language – Former Self (05:10)
1-08. Nation of Language – Whatever You Want (04:53)
1-09. Nation of Language – A Word & A Wave (03:52)
1-10. Nation of Language – They’re Beckoning (04:49)

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