Brooklyn-based trio Nation of Language have released a vibrant, uber-melodic, Kraftwerk-tinged new track in the form of Wounds of Love; which echoes the dark recesses of post-breakup rumination using the contrarily brooding lyrical candour juxtaposed by the sprightly synth beat.
Vocalist Ian Devaney describes the track as:
“…a song about getting caught in a mental feedback loop when a relationship ends. It’s an endless inner argument – wanting to move on defiantly, but feeling utterly lost about how to do it when the other person has informed so much about how you see yourself. For every bit of progress there’s just as much retreating, and eventually it seems like this back-and-forth becomes the new root of your identity – still tied to the same person, just without them actually being there.”
The track revolves around this effortlessly catchy, classically Kraftwerk, lurid electronic riff, bolstered in its hypnagogic and vulnerable ache by emotive bass and a soothing wave of synths – a melancholic combination that perfectly embodies the disarray felt from post-breakup disarray. This late 70’s type riff was the primary spark of the song, as Devaney elaborates:
“…I was experimenting with synth sounds and delay pedals, trying to find something that felt kind of like Man Machine era Kraftwerk, and this simple melody just flowed out. At first the urge was to go very robotic with it, but a laid-back groove fell into place and gave everything a really warm, spacey, stoned feeling, which felt like it amplified the emotional haze that the song deals with.”
See the track’s DIY lyric video, made by Devaney, below
Wounds of Love features on Nation of Language’s second album A Way Forward, following the huge success of their debut, which earnt it’s place upon the year-end ‘Best of’’ lists from the likes of NME and Rough Trade. Where their debut was more interested in synth-punk sound of the 80’s, the band’s upcoming record explores a flurry of Krautrock pioneers and electronic experimentalists of the 70’s, examined through the uniquely myriad dimensions of Nation of Language.
Pre-order the album here.
Nation of Language play Reading and Leeds Festival this year, and also announce a January 2022 tour of the UK and EU including dates in London, Manchester, Dublin, Glasgow, and Leeds.
Tickets available here.
LDOI 