Tag: nation of language

Ahead of September’s release of the new album Strange Disciple, Nation of Language have shared another of its tracks, a great new wave cut “Too Much, Enough”.

It is released alongside star-studded and probably their best music video so far, which features Emmy-nominated actor Jimmi Simpson, fellow musicians Reggie Watts, Kevin Morby, Tomberlin, Moldy Peaches’ Adam Green, and LVL UP’s Greg Rutkin, plus more than a dozen other close friends, and familiar faces. The surreal visual masterpiece was directed by Robert Kolodny.

Talking about the new song, the band shared the following:

«Too Much, Enough’ is a song born out of an exhaustion with the 24 hour news cycle and the outrage bait it uses to get everyone permanently wound up. It seems the only way to find an edge in the media business is to appeal to our most base instincts of disgust (see: the high ratings of Fox News, etc.), and we end up suffering both individually and collectively for it.

When it came to creating a visual to go alongside the song, we didn’t want the music video to be its own form of outrage bait so we went with a more absurdist approach, gathering some friends of ours, and of our incredible director Robert Kolodny, to make something fun and outlandish to that effect. We also laced the video with as many NOL-related Easter eggs and iconography as possible to give anyone watching an opportunity to play along at home and be a part of that absurdity. It felt good to try to name a problem for ourselves without leaning on fear and rage.

It’s a powerful thing to deny someone the ability to manipulate your most destructive emotions, and that’s something we want to celebrate here.

The overarching theme of Strange Disciple is infatuation and how one’s reality can be warped by it. We went a more romantic route with that on the previous video, but News is one of those less interpersonal activities it feels like everyone takes part in, so we wanted to show our disciple is just as susceptible to it as any other figure».

Watch below and pre-order the LP here.

Back in 2021, Brooklyn band Nation of Language released their excellent sophomore LP A Way Forward, and now they are following it up with a new single “Sole Obsession” — a captivating and catchy track that showcases the band’s unique blend of retro and modern sounds. Another great addition to their catalogue!

It looks like they are also gearing up to provide us with a new record this year, although no announcements have been made just yet. Here’s what Ian Devaney and Aidan Noell from the group say about the single:

“In simplest terms, ‘Sole Obsession’ is one about knowing when, or if, to give in or give up. Particularly, when to untie the knots we tie ourselves into when an infatuation sets in. So many of us have experienced an addictive feeling that constricts us further and further until, hopefully, there’s a moment of clarity that allows one to free themself from that particular compulsion. The title of our next album, Strange Disciple, is a lyric from ‘Sole Obsession’ which references a character of such a nature; one who finds themself an adherent to a subject that is probably not worth the devotion”.

The track is out with the beautiful music video, directed by John MacKay and shot in 16mm around Queens and Manhattan’s Fort Tryon Park.

Watch below.