Nation Of Language perfected the pose of 80s synth legends with their debut album Introduction, Presence in 2020. Their band name sounded like it was plucked from a tatty vinyl in a charity shop, their chunky synth pop veered from madly impassioned to distant and cold, and the sumptuous basslines of their catchiest tracks recalled the chirpier end of New Order. Teeming with confidence right out of the gate, it’s perhaps inevitable that their third outing, Strange Disciple, finds this trio digging their heels into their established sound, pushing forwards tentatively without compromising a delicate balance between plonking Moogs and forceful pop. 

Tracks like ‘Stumbling Still’ or ‘Sole Obsession’ showcase a band still crafting earworm choruses, but Strange Disciple shifts away from classic pop structures into something looser, focusing on grooves more than singalong hooks. Album opener ‘Weak In Your Light’ feels representative of the whole, with its gradual expansion from a few notes to a bracing complexity, a single ingredient becoming a delicious meal through the careful addition of different textures, buttressed by Ian Devaney’s soaring vocals. The welcome looseness opens plenty of new doors; relaxed climbs and descents in ‘Sightseers’; sudden synth breakdowns in ‘A New Goodbye’; and a renewed focus on abstraction in Devaney’s lyrics (‘swimming in sweat, television set,’ he bellows during the jittery, anxiety-ridden ‘Too Much Enough’, more in love with the strangeness of his rhyming couplet than any traditional idea of sense). 

Even in the most eccentrically structured songs, there’s seldom a hint of self-indulgence, each new direction in service to the track at hand rather than an arbitrary whim. Perhaps that’s apt as Devaney’s words aren’t simply about love, but hint at being overwhelmingly obsessed with another person or in thrall to a transcendent experience. ‘Something so bright and blessed I’m almost crushed,’ he sings on ‘Weak In Your Light’, allowing himself to be consumed by his feelings to the point of religious ecstasy, a motif which surfaces regularly throughout this album. 

Though iterative rather than revolutionary, the strong material here shows Nation Of Language writing their way out of a potential creative cul-de-sac, turning a love affair with OMD and The Human League into a big sexy marriage sparking with joy. The album brims with fresh ideas, inviting new sounds into the partnership to keep things interesting, and testing the limits of what makes them unique. If you’re yet to listen to Nation Of Language, now’s the time to catch up with their phenomenally impressive pop artistry.

Strange Disciple is released by PIAS on Friday 15 September.