Strange Disciple [CD], Nation of Language, CD

Nation of Language have attracted an increasing, international audience with their danceable and impassioned takes on new wave and post-punk traditions. Their hopeful music-marked by soaring melodies, blinking synth lines, and frontman Ian Devaney's towering voice-is a ray of light in an era of anxiety, cynicism, hatred, and snark. Following the critical acclaim of their 2020 debut album, Introduction, Presence, and it's 2021 follow-up, A Way Forward, Nation of Language return with their third studio album, Strange Disciple. Recorded in the East Williamsburg home studio of their producer Nick Millhiser (LCD Soundsystem / Holy Ghost!), it is the band's first album recorded completely to analog tape. The sonic direction of the record became clear after the band wrote "Sole Obsession," "Spare Me the Decision," and "Sightseer," all groovy, bass-driven songs that deviate from the straight-forward drive of A Way Forward. As their bass lines became more playful and ambulatory, they also relied more on the electric guitar, which had largely been a background element up until this point. Strange Disciple is a spiritual, searching record. We follow a bumpy journey of self-exploration, stumbling on moments of clarity and wisdom, and then getting tripped up again. It's an invitation to both celebrate and mourn, find yourself and lose yourself, reflect on one's infatuations and perhaps even form new ones with these songs.