Nation of Language Share Video for “On Division St”

Brooklyn synth-pop group Nation of Language have shared a video for “On Division St,” a track from their 2020 debut LP Introduction, Presence. Paste named it one of the best albums of 2020 (so far), and we also featured the band in our Best of What’s Next column.

Lead vocalist and songwriter Ian Devaney says of the new video:

I’ve been looking forward to releasing a video for “On Division St.” for a long time. We were excited to team up with our friend James Thomson, who was able to shine a new kind of light on the song. I have this idea in my head that our music generally feels out of place against the backdrop of summer, but the dynamic of the city in its current condition really captured the solitude and confusion behind the song in a way that feels compelling.

Thomson shot the video on 16mm film, which has a way of making you perceive the recent past as the distant past – a feeling I’ve been experiencing a lot these past several months as time seems to warp in strange new ways.

The band is releasing a limited edition, translucent sand vinyl version of the album, exclusively through Rough Trade, which will be available on Aug. 28. Preorder it here.

Watch the video for “On Division St” below, and read our review of Introduction, Presence here.