Nation of Language —Introduction, Presence
This album does such a good job of something that’s been done so many times before that it has inspired me to stop fopping about for once and write a straight piece about how good the album I’ve been listening to is. I will, of course, get distracted midway, but I’m going to make a real effort to sound professional. Here goes.
The eighties are a sound — synths, strong snare sounds, precise kicks, reverb-drenched deep male vocals, pronounced British accents. Multiple music acts from the Anglophone world have made a killing in the past couple of decades mimicking the sound, to the point where there’s very little new ground to break. The only way for a band to stand out in this crowded field is to be so good at what they do that it warrants attention. With Introduction, Presence, Nation of Language does just that.
That said, you’d be right to ask: does the world need another one of these after the 80’s nostalgia of the National, the Editors, the 1975, Future Islands, and on and on the list goes. As if there wasn’t already the actual 80s with Duran Duran, the Cure, Depeche Mode, Men at Work, and on and on that list goes too. You’d be right to ask that, but you’d be wrong to answer anything other than: yes, the world needs more of this. Shiny songs of nostalgiacore are particularly helpful in years like 2020 when everything's gone a bit tits-up. It helps to have a fresh spin on snug nostalgia done expertly, like on music like this. Now is it the best album of the year so far? Who’s to say? But is it comforting, nice-nice music, wrapped in an eighties blanket and all? Yes, it absolutely is. And that's great.
Find the album on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.
