Nation of Language – Dance Called Memory
On September 19th, 2025, Nation of Language will release Dance Called Memory, their fourth album and full-length Sub Pop debut.
The 10-track effort was recorded, produced, and mixed by returning producer and collaborator Nick Millhiser in New York City and mastered by Heba Kadry in Brooklyn. Dance Called Memory features the current breakout radio single “Inept Apollo,” along with highlights ‘Under the Water,” “In Your Head,” “Silhouette,” and today’s offering, “I’m Not Ready for the Change” with an official video from director John MacKay.
Synthpop, minimal wave, post-punk, goth, new romantic — fans and critics alike have dug deeply into their vintage thesauruses to describe the beguiling work of Nation of Language. And if you can’t precisely define the band, that’s the point. Frontman Ian Richard Devaney has become prodigious in expanding what synthesizer-driven music can evoke, such that his output is as much an extrasensory journey as it is an all-too-human destination. With that experience in mind, he wrote the band’s fourth album — the spectral, spacious Dance Called Memory — in the most humble of ways: chipping away at melancholia by sitting around and strumming his guitar.
Nation of Language’s first three albums, Introduction, Presence (2020), A Way Forward (2021), and Strange Disciple (2023) came as pandemic-era godsends: gorgeous, relatable soundtracks to our collective doldrums.
On Dance Called Memory, Nation of Language once again collaborated with friend and Strange Disciple producer Nick Millhiser (LCD Soundsystem, Holy Ghost!). “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 synth player Aidan Noell, who, along with bassist Alex MacKay, rounds out the Nation of Language lineup. They imbued Dance Called Memory with a shifted palette — for example, smashing all of the percussion of “In Another Life” through a synthesizer to cast a shade of early-2000s electronic music or by sampling chopped-up drum breaks on “I’m Not Ready for the Change,” for a touch of Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine.
Nation of Language
Summer 2025 Support Shows w/ Death Cab for Cutie
Thu. Jul. 31 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena **
Sat. Aug. 02 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena ** [Sold Out]
Tue. Aug. 05 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theater ** [Sold Out]
Wed. Aug. 06 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theater ** [Sold Out]
August – October 2025
North American Headline Shows
Thu. Aug. 21 – Hamden, CT – Space Ballroom !
Fri. Aug. 22 – Woodstock, NY – Bearsville Theater !
Sat. Aug. 23 – Portland, ME – State Theatre !
Thu. Sep. 18 – Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw %
Fri. Sep. 19 – Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw +
Sat. Sep. 20 – Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw #
Sun. Sep. 21 – Boston, MA – Royale #
Tue. Sep. 23 – Detroit, MI – The Majestic #
Wed. Sep. 24 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall #
Fri. Sep. 26 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue #
Sat. Sep. 27 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall Ballroom #
Mon. Sep. 29 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown #
Tue. Sep. 30 – Kansas City, MO – The Truman #
Thu. Oct. 02 – Denver, CO – The Gothic Theatre #
Sat. Oct. 04 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory #
Sun. Oct. 05 – Missoula, MT – Top Hat #
Wed. Oct. 08 – Vancouver, BC – The Pearl ^
Sun. Oct. 11 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall ^
Mon. Oct. 13 – San Francisco. CA – The Fillmore ^
Wed. Oct. 15 – Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theater ^
Thu. Oct. 16 – Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theater *
Fri. Oct. 17 – San Diego, CA – Music Box *
Tue. Oct. 21 – Austin, TX – Mohawk *
Wed. Oct. 22 – Dallas, TX – The Studio at The Bomb Factory *
Thu. Oct. 24 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall *
Sat. Oct. 25 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse *
Sun. Oct. 26 – Chapel Hill, NC – Cat’s Cradle *
Mon. Oct. 27 – Richmond, VA – The Broadberry *
Wed. Oct. 29 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer *
Thu. Oct. 30 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club *
November 2025
UK/EU Headlining Shows
Thu. Nov. 06 – Dublin, IE – Opium $
Fri. Nov. 07 – Dublin, IE – Opium $ [Sold Out]
Sat. Nov. 08 – Manchester, UK – O2 Ritz Manchester ^
Sun. Nov. 09 – Glasgow, UK – St. Luke’s ^
Tue. Nov. 11 – Cardiff, UK – Tramshed ^
Wed. Nov. 12 – London, UK – The Roundhouse ^
Fri. Nov. 14 – Paris, FR – Elysee Montmartre ^
Sat. Nov. 15 – Amsterdam, NL – Melkweg ^
Sun. Nov. 16 – Nijmegen, NL – Doornroosje ^
Tue. Nov. 18 – Cologne, DE – Gloria ^
Wed. Nov. 19 – Hamburg, DE – Uebel & Gefährlich ^
Fri. Nov. 21 – Berlin, DE – Columbiahalle ^
Sat. Nov. 22 – Munich, DE – Technikum ^
Sun. Nov. 23 – Milan, IT – Magazzini Generali
Wed. Nov. 26 – Barcelona, ES – Razzmatazz
Thu. Nov. 27 – Madrid, ES – La Riviera
Fri. Nov. 28 – Lisbon, PT – LAV
** w/ Death Cab For Cutie
! w/ Safe Mind
# w/ Greet Death
* w/ Deeper
^ w/ Westerman
+ w/ Horse Jumper of Love
% w/ A. Savage
$ w/ Telekura
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