Tag: Nation of Language Inept Apollo

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Nation of Language Shares Tom Sharkett Rework of “Inept Apollo”

Last year was a big year for acclaimed Brooklyn-based synth pop trio and JOVM mainstays Nation of Language. The trio — Ian Richard Devaney (vocals, guitar), Aidan Noell (synths) and Alex MacKay (bass) — signed with Sub Pop Records, who released their Nick Milhiser produced and mixed fourth album, Dance Called Memory, continuing an ongoing collaboration that included 2023’s Strange Disciple.“What’s so great about Nick is his ability to make us feel like we don’t need to do what might be expected of us,” says Nation of Language’s Aidan Noell.  

Sonically, the album is imbued with a subtly shifted palette: On some tracks percussion is smashed through a synthesizer as a nod to early-2000s electronic music. Chopped-up drum break samples also make appearances.

But ultimately, for the trio, 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,” Nation of Language’s Ian Richard Devaney says. “As much as Kraftwerk is a sonically foundational influence, with this record I leaned much more towards the Eno school of thought. 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… 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.”

The album features “Inept Apollo,” which continues a remarkable run of nostalgia-inducing 80s New Wave-inspired material that showcases the trio’s unerring knack for crafting slickly produced bops, anchored around earnest lyricism and songwriting.

Recently the JOVM mainstays shared Tom Sharkett‘s bold rework of “Inept Apollo.” Sharkett’s rework retains Devaney’s yearning vocal and some of the original’s New Wave/synth pop-inspired feel but noticeably increases the BPM and adds a strutting disco-like bass line. The result is a something that’s earnest, achingly yearning and yet even more dance floor friendly. It’s one-part Madchester-scene, one-part NYC dance club.

“We’re big fans of WH Lung, as well as Tom’s excellent recent LCD Soundsystem rework, so we were super excited when he reached out saying he wanted to take a crack at a new mix of ‘Inept Apollo,'” Devaney says. ” Our initial enthusiasm only grew when we received the end product a couple months later and were able to test it out in a club environment a few times. Can confidently report it sounds fantastic in a loud and crowded room. Here’s hoping it sees its way to a few dance floors in 2026.”
 
“I had an affinity with Nation of Language as soon as I heard their music,” Tom Sharkett says. “It felt like it came from the same place as the music I was making myself and with W. H. Lung, and the more of their music I heard, the more I felt it. It was hard initially to find a way in with remixing ‘Inept Apollo,’ as I loved the original so much. I knew I wanted to nod to the connection between NYC and Manchester started by the artists and DJs I feel we both love, without even having to name check them. It had to be wonky, and it had to be loose and lively. Hope you enjoy!”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: Nation of Language Shares Swooning “Under the Water”

Acclaimed Brooklyn-based synth pop trio and JOVM mainstays Nation of Language — Ian Richard Devaney (vocals, guitar), Aidan Noell (synths) and Alex MacKay (bass) — have amass a rapidly growing and devout national and international fanbase as a result of a dance floor friendly sound that draws from New Wave, post-punk and shoegaze. The JOVM mainstays three albums, 2020’s Introduction, Presence, 2021’s A Way Forward and 2023’s Strange Disciple have received coverage from Billboard, The New York Times, Document Journal, BrooklynVegan, MOJO, NME, Pitchfork, Stereogum and lengthy list of others, including this site. 

Adding to a rapidly rising profile, the band has performed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. They’ve also become a mainstay on the international festival circuit, playing sets at Austin City Limits, Desert Daze, Pitchfork Festival, Primavera Sound, Pukklepop, Corona Capital, Outside Lands, Bonnaroo, and a growing list of others globally. And recently, “Weak In Your Light” was featured in the series finale of the Netflix hit show You.

Earlier this year, the acclaimed JOVM mainstays announced that they signed to Sub Pop Records, who will be releasing their new material globally in 2025 and beyond, including the band’s highly-anticipated fourth album, Dance Called Memory. Slated for a September 19, 2025 release, the 10-song album was recorded, produced and mixed by Holy Ghost‘s Nick Millhiser, who produced 2023’s Strange Disciple. “What’s so great about Nick is his ability to make us feel like we don’t need to do what might be expected of us,” says Nation of Language’s Aidan Noell. The album was mastered by Heba Kadry, who has worked on some of the most acclaimed records of the past decade or so. 

Sonically, the album is imbued with a subtly shifted palette: On some tracks percussion is smashed through a synthesizer to nod at early-2000’s electronic music. Chopped-up drum break samples make appearances, too. 

Ultimately, for the trio, 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,” Nation of Language’s Ian Richard Devaney says. “As much as Kraftwerk is a sonically foundational influence, with this record I leaned much more towards the Eno school of thought. 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… 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.”

Dance Called Memory will feature the previously released “Inept Apollo” “I’m Not Ready for the Change,” and the album’s third and latest single, “Under the Water.” Anchored around a minimalist leaning arrangement of an oscillating synth melody paired with Devaney’s achingly yearning delivery, “Under the Water” subtly nods at Kraftwerk while being deeply human, expressing swooning longing and heart-wrenching regret — all while continuing to showcase the trio’s unerring knack for breezy, nostalgia-inducing synth pop.

“This was the last one to make the cut before we turned the record in,” the band’s Ian Richard Devaney says. “We’d always had a lot of enthusiasm for the track, but the studio schedule had gotten a bit unwieldy over the holidays and an arbitrary deadline had been set to be done with LP4 prior to leaving for a January tour in Australia supporting IDLES. As such we’d turned in the final album mixes for mastering before getting on the plane and I’d resigned myself to saving ‘Under the Water’ for some subsequent release down the line. But somewhere over the Pacific Ocean while trying to sequence the album clarity set in that despite our love for rigid adherence to the production calendar, we wanted it on there. So before soundchecks on the other side of the planet we hooked up all the synths we’d brought with us in the greenroom, remotely concocting the version you hear now. If it somehow sounds distinctly of the southern hemisphere, now you’ll all know why.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Nation of Language Share Shimmering “Inept Apollo”

Acclaimed Brooklyn-based synth pop act and JOVM mainstays Nation of Language — Ian Richard Devaney (vocals, guitar), Aidan Noell (synths) and Alex MacKay (bass) — have managed to amass a rapidly growing and devout national and international fanbase as a result of a dance floor friendly sound that draws from New Wave, post-punk and shoegaze. The JOVM mainstays three albums, 2020’s Introduction, Presence, 2021’s A Way Forward and 2023’s Strange Disciple have received coverage from Billboard, The New York Times, Document Journal, BrooklynVegan, MOJO, NME, Pitchfork, Stereogum and more.

Adding to a rapidly rising profile, the band has performed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and recently “Weak In Your Light” was featured in the series finale of the Netflix hit show You. They’ve also become a mainstay on the international festival circuit, playing sets at Austin City Limits, Desert Daze, Pitchfork Festival, Primavera Sound, Pukklepop, Corona Capital, Outside Lands, Bonnaroo, and a growing list of others.

The acclaimed outfit recently signed to Sub Pop Records, who will release their new music globally in 2025 and beyond. The Brooklyn trio’s Sub Pop debut “Inept Apollo” continues a run of nostalgia-inducing, 80s New Wave-inspired material while further cementing reputation for crafting slickly produced dance floor friendly numbers anchored around earnest lyricism and songwriting.

“Work is a respite from pain. Whether it’s a paying job or just the thing you pour yourself into, having a direction to move in, finding a flow state, it can move focus away from the heaviness of the heart. So after life’s losses, in moments of despair, we resolve time and time again to dive headfirst into the work as best we can,” Devaney says of the new single. “But the artistic process also tends to be when imposter syndrome rears its ugly head – when I find my inner monologue spiraling: ‘this is the best coping mechanism I have at my disposal and I’m not even qualified to be doing it.’

He continues, “Accompanying the song is a killer music video by our friend and brother John MacKay: it is an homage to creative pursuits, and in some ways came to represent the feeling of living in a city as an artist. The video feels like walking through an old warehouse in Brooklyn, full of practice spaces and studios, each room occupied by artists striving to express and understand themselves and their place in the world. No matter how bizarre the act may seem or how much self-doubt or pain runs through the mind of the creator, the beautiful thing is the striving and continuing on, rather than the final product or any notion of ‘success.’ The power of creation belongs to all of us; requires the approval of none.”