Brooklyn-based synth-pop trio Nation of Language have shared Friend Machine, the latest single lifted from their upcoming debut album ‘Introduction, Presence,‘ which is due out May 22. Vinyl copies of the album are available immediately to fans who order direct from the band’s website. Listen to Friend Machine via YouTube below.
“Friend Machine is about my own unhealthy relationship with technology,” said songwriter-vocalist Ian Devaney. “Like many people, I just spend too much time with it. There’s a struggle that forms as I attempt to balance my social media content to keep me both informed about the world and inspired to create. Connectivity often feels like it keeps me chained or absent, but simultaneously it can also drive me to go make new things. Perhaps it’s just an excuse I make for myself, but in my head there really is a push/pull that exists, and so I’m left trying to find a way to develop some kind of reasonable symmetry within the tension of my tech habits.”
Inspired by the early new wave and punk movements, Nation of Language’s energetic anthems blend upbeat energy with a healthy dose of sardonic melancholy. The two-year process of creating Introduction, Presence involved both musical exploration and self-discovery by Devaney, keyboardist Aidan Devaney and bassist Michael Sui-Poi. The three went into the studio without an agenda, ready to experiment with new instruments to see what sounds came out. “There’s something fascinating to me about how emotions can present themselves when one is unsure of what exactly they’re doing,” Devaney mused. “It’s important to me that people feel that core of innocence and pure discovery out of which these songs were born.”
These powerful emotions transcend time and genre, and they have endeared Nation of Language to concertgoers who have had the opportunity to witness their live act, as well as listeners who have come across their early singles as if discovering a hidden secret.
For more information on Nation Of Language, visit nationoflanguage.com
