Nation of Language brought their icy, post-punk-inspired synth pop to Rescue Rooms...
“This city means a lot to this band,” says Aidan Noell, backing vocalist and chief synth operator for rising indie-pop trio, Nation of Language. “Yeah, we had our first-ever crowd surfer here,” explains frontman Ian Richard Devaney, as a group of friends next to me suddenly start to cheer, point at a certain member of their crew and jump around excitedly. It seems that same crowd surfer from their iconic sold-out show at The Bodega last year is in the house again tonight, however the difference is the size of the audience for Nation of Language has doubled this time around. As they stand on the Rescue Rooms stage, it really is a testament to just how quickly the band seem to be catching people’s attention.
In just three years, Nation of Language have gone from releasing their cult classic debut Introduction, Presence amidst the height of a global pandemic, to now being one of the most hotly discussed acts on the independent music scene. Propelled by word-of-mouth recommendations, their joyous live shows and now the success of their recently released third album, Strange Disciple, there seems to be no slowing down their momentum. As an avid follower of the band up until this point, I headed down to Rescue Rooms to check in on their progress.
Turning up in time for support act Walt Disco, a band I’d heard a lot about but hadn’t managed to catch live until this point, the balcony is already busy and the main floor is about halfway full. The most notable thing straight away is the mix of ages in the crowd, truly highlighting the cross-generational appeal of Nation of Language’s eighties-inspired sound.
However, I spot a woman wearing a Walt Disco T-shirt and it seems the goth-glam quintet from Glasgow have some of their own following in the room tonight. As they start to play it’s easy to see why, as enigmatic frontman James Potter embodies the showman spirit of David Bowie, conducting the crowd as the band stomp through cuts from their 2022 album, Unlearning. “This is the warm-up, so let’s get f**king warmed up,” he cries, energetically jumping around the stage and getting the ever-growing audience to clap and dance along with them. By the end of their half hour of power they’ve won over plenty of new fans, myself included.
After a short break to get some fresh air and a top-up of our drinks, it’s then back in for Nation of Language and the venue is now chock-full. They launch straight into the rumbling bassline of Strange Disciple highlight Spare Me The Decision, before early gem Rush & Fever gets the crowd moving. The first goosebump-inducing moment of the night then arrives during recent single Sole Obsession, as the crowd belt-out the “Walk me home and walk away” refrain along with Ian Devaney during the song’s climax. “You sing that better than me, I’m just trying to hit the right notes,” he jests.
The biggest compliment I can give is that at times the gig almost feels like a greatest hits performance, such is the instantly timeless nature of Nation of Language’s catalogue. As the band rattle through the sparse pop of Wounds of Love, the rushing guitars of Stumbling Still and singalong favourite This Fractured Mind, they have the crowd in the palm of their hands.
After a raucous performance of September Again, bassist Alex MacKay reminds the audience “It’s actually nearly October now – get planning your Halloween costume, because it’ll only sneak up on you.” It’s a humorous interlude that leads nicely into the slightly ominous Weak In Your Light, after which Ian Richard Devaney thanks the audience for coming out and says how excited they are to be back. “I was trying to think of a more British way of saying it,” the native New Yorker says, before Aiden Noell wittily chimes in with “We’re chuffed.”
It becomes a running joke from that point on, as The Wall & I provides an utterly euphoric end to the main set. There’s no way the trio aren’t getting an encore tonight though, as thunderous applause quickly brings them back onto the stage for On Division St. Then after a fitting penultimate performance of A New Goodbye, they launch into an electric rendition of Across That Fine Line to close the show. During the song’s final stretch, the whole audience animatedly dances away as one member of the crowd climbs onto his mate’s shoulders – it may well be that crowd-surfer again.
Nation of Language just keep getting better and are becoming a real live force, with this show easily on par with their epic set at The Bodega last year. Rock City next time then? At the rate they’re going, I think so.
Nation of Language performed at Rescue Rooms on 30 September 2023.
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