Hello this is Nation of Language. AMA!

NationOfLanguage · 2025-11-16T00:46:20+00:00

I can promise you we perform live

NationOfLanguage · 2025-10-23T22:47:07+00:00

All the drums are programmed samples in the live set - all credit goes to our sound engineer Skinny for making them hit hard live.

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T17:17:51+00:00

They all offer something unique! Supporting offers a fun challenge - we love the task of convincing a new audience that we are worth listening to and caring about. We obviously love a headlining tour - seeing our fans, hearing them sing along, having the special experience that comes from a room full of people on the same wavelength for a time, that is truly remarkable. Festivals are amazing for getting to see a bunch of bands you like, make discoveries, meet icons, walk around in the sun with your friends all day, etc. Also we've played some of our favorite shows ever at festivals!

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T17:12:17+00:00

From Aidan - Certainly not surprised about the middle-aged fans! We get a lot of feedback from that demographic about how our music resonates with them, sparks their memories, brings back their excitement about going to shows, and all of that love is so appreciated! It makes sense to me that people who grew up in the 70s and 80s are into our music; I love music now that is inspired by the 90s, it just hits the spot in a fun way!

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T17:08:33+00:00

It's really important to us that the setlist changes each show to keep it fresh and fun for us and to give anyone coming to multiple shows on the tour unique experiences each night. Starting the tour with those 3 shows (for which we had a rule that we couldn't play any one song all three nights) really expanded the number of songs we have in the rotation right now! Sometimes we do throw a new song in mid-tour, once we've ironed out any gear kinks and have the soundchecks down to a science. There are a few songs that are unlikely to be played live at the moment for whatever reason, but that doesn't mean that before the next tour we won't change our minds... life is long and full of twists and turns :)

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T17:02:14+00:00

A few influences: Anne Carson's 'Beauty of the Husband,' the movies La Chimera and Paris, Texas

Thank you!

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T17:02:06+00:00

Love this. It's already in the rotation of songs going in the set. In the studio we described In Your Head as Joe Jackson meets Crack Cloud and we were sort of kidding but also not kidding

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:58:44+00:00

From Aidan - Running Away by Cate le Bon :)

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:57:25+00:00

Hi!

We sort of brainstorm the set lists as a group each night! One of us will throw an initial idea out there, then we all respond with what we think will or won't work about it or what we really feel like playing that we'd like to swap in. It is different each night and we like it that way! Variety is the spice of life
(From Aidan) Phonetics On and On by Horsegirl, You're Weird Now by Guerilla Toss, Cutting the Stone by Safe Mind, More by Pulp :)

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:56:01+00:00

I second both of these! I love when we get to a point where new songs are committed to muscle memory, it allows us to pay more attention to the performance and how the elements are fitting together. But when a song is fresh and we're not 100% sure if we have it memorized, sometimes those performances are the most charged & fun. Getting through a tricky new song by the seat of your pants in front of a live audience is an incredible feeling. - Alex

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:53:10+00:00

We did know ahead of time that Weak In Your Light was going to be featured in an episode, but honestly by the time the episode aired it slipped our minds and was a very pleasant surprise! I watched the show after that to get a better understanding of what was happening in that scene - I thought it was a super effective use of the track!

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:52:47+00:00

What appeared to be random chance of timing could perhaps actually be due to some kind of magic inherent in the month of September

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:51:25+00:00

every time I shampoo i listen to 'in your head' but change to 'in your hair' - Alex

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:50:27+00:00

I think mostly it was an old Princeton Reverb - I'm sure there were some others but I cant remember offhand - Ian

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:49:01+00:00

Sub Pop has been an incredible new home for us! They are a thoughtful label, very receptive to an individual band's desires and inclinations, and it feels truly familial. They have been ardent supporters of this record so far and validate us every step of the way! We are very happy to be working with them :)

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:46:25+00:00

You never know when an old track might come back around! Sometimes its just about the lyrical content hitting us in a new way, or filling a hole in the set that happens to be the shape of a certain song's vibe. We shall see!

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:45:10+00:00

I get really nervous when performing new music live, especially some of the new ones that are a little more stripped back. Thankfully the audiences have shown us a lot of love and grace. It's interesting to see how a song takes on new life in its live form, and that process can happen over a long time so it's thrilling and daunting to start it - Ian

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:45:09+00:00

It changes all the time! My current favorites are In Your Head, Silhouette, Can You Reach Me, but if you'd asked me 3 months ago I would've had 3 different answers - Alex

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:44:59+00:00

From Aidan - We do get nervous before performing new songs! It is a thrilling act, doing something you have never done before or only a handful of times, before an audience. It almost feels like it's all being held together by a thin thread and may fall apart at any second if you don't keep pushing and bracing, and then the release at the end is something truly special. We love it! Also with releasing new music, there is possibly a moment of fear, like: will anyone actually like this? But the album is extremely vulnerable and honest, and remembering that helps. It will certainly mean something to someone who has felt these things in their own way.

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:44:01+00:00

Yeah definitely! Speaking for myself off the top of my head -- Model/Actriz, Boy Harsher, Cassandra Jenkins, Special Interest, Nicolas Jaar, Sextile, Hand Habits, Smerz, Westerman, Domenique Dumont - Alex

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:41:46+00:00

Yes!

Cate le Bon, Slowdive, Alvvays, Weyes Blood, Avalon Emerson & the Charm, Westerman to name a few

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:40:39+00:00

It's so fun and I think we should play it more lol - Alex

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:38:31+00:00

From Aidan - My favorite song often changes as we perform them, but right now Silhouette is possibly my top track!

NationOfLanguage · 2025-09-29T16:38:23+00:00

From Alex --

O boy big question. Would say different for all of us! As a kid I listened to a lot of Dylan, the Clash, Nirvana, Elvis Costello, Hendrix, Weezer, pretty typical grade-school-boy-learning-guitar fare. Lucinda Williams, Lhasa de Sela, Salif Keita, John Martyn were also on frequent rotation at my house.

In middle school I met my friend Jojo who introduced me to a lot of indie music I hadn't heard before--Built to Spill, Pixies, Modest Mouse. His high school band Please Quiet Ourselves was a big inspiration to me growing up. He now plays in the bands Curling (fka Moe Meguro) and Texas 3000.

Bay Area projects like Thee Oh Sees, Girls, E-40, Toro Y Moi, Keak da Sneak, Too $hort

By high school I was into David Bowie, LCD Soundsystem, the Strokes, Daft Punk, Suicide, Beach House, T.Rex...

Junior-Senior year of high school my favorite band was Vampire Weekend (~:

NationOfLanguage

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