#alex mackay

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Nation of Language - Dance Called Memory (2025)

Ian Devaney - Guitars, Vocals Aidan Noell - Keys, Vocals Alex MacKay - Bass

[ccherrycolouredfunk]

nation of language

the crocodile | seattle, wa

5.18.23

[ccherrycolouredfunk]

nation of language

the crocodile | seattle, wa

5.18.23

[thenewobjective]

Boundaries Festival, Sunderland

Boundaries celebrated its fifth edition last weekend, treating Sunderland to two days of experimental and adventurous music. Using multiple venues around the city centre – in fact, using the city centre as a venue itself – Boundaries is the kind of festival you wish took place in a town near you. It was my second year, so friendships were renewed, new acquaintances were made, and it was a chance…

Boundaries Festival, Sunderland

[dancecalledmemory]

nation of language by @/snappedbykay

[stevenvenn]

Nation of Language - Sole Obsession (new single) Love Fridays with new releases including this new single from Brooklyn’s Nation of Language! Dig it!

[thebowerypresents]

Nation of Language Are Stellar in Hometown Show at Webster Hall

Nation of Language – Webster Hall – March 3, 2022

Nation of Language are not New Order. They’re not the Cure. Although you wouldn’t be mistaken if either came to mind. The Brooklyn band—a New Wave–inspired threesome—headlined Webster Hall Thursday night to an eager crowd. After two back-to-back records in quick succession, the band has quickly reached—and earned—scene-y rock status. Lead singer Ian Richard Devaney has an instantly iconic voice, the crooner-meets-angsty pleading of bygone ’80s influences—think Mike Score, Ian Curtis, Robert Smith. Aidan Noell, keys and vocals, dressed brilliantly in a corset-topped brocade dress, was the spine and core of the rhythm, and bassist Alex Mackay was constant, keeping the audience moving and wanting through a beautiful set.

The NOL callbacks are so convincing that they feel like classic covers. Of course, they aren’t. But songs like “This Fractured Mind” and “Across That Fine Line” feel so worn in and so nostalgic that it takes a moment to remember they’re of and from an entirely new genre of rock artist. Listen closer and you get hints and breaths of something newer: Cut Copy, Drab Majesty, Parquet Courts, Black Marble. And watch, too: Devaney is a svelte mover and dipper, an ’80s aesthete, complete with aquiline nose and buoyant brown curls. I never thought I’d say Future Islands’ Sam Herring has competition but…. (Editor’s note (which is also me): He does not. Sam is simply incomparable.) The moves are contagious, though, and hard to contain.

After their set, the band emerged to roars for an encore. Deservedly so. They are a sweet homage and an exciting reinterpretation of so many of the bands we hold dear. See them when you have the chance—and make sure to dance your butt off. —Rachel Brody | @RachelCBrody

(Nation of Language play Underground Arts in Philadelphia tomorrow night.)

Photo courtesy of Ellen Qbertplaya | @Qbertplaya

[bloomsburycooks]

ALEX MACKAY’S CREAMY MACKEREL, TOMATO, POTATO & ONION BAKE

Recipe from Everybody Everyday by Alex Mackay

As you’ll see elsewhere, I have a lingering love affair with tartiflette. This old alpine creation is a mountain of bacon, cream, wine, cheese and onions, the most exquisite gluttony. But however much I might like to, I can’t put bacon in every recipe, and here I’ve decided that oily mackerel will be my bacon from the sea. So this meal is a nod to the comfort and fun of tartiflette, eased into a panful of enormous flavour. You can bake it in an ovenproof frying pan or start off in a pan and then transfer it to a baking dish.

This a good recipe to introduce oily fish to kids – try breaking the mackerel up and mixing it through the sauce rather than leaving it in whole pieces. You can make individual bakes, like little pies, so that each kid can have their own portion. For younger kids, finely chop rather than slice the onions. An excellent dish to purée or chop and freeze for babies and toddlers.

Serves 2

Sides: Dark green or crisp leaf salad Prep ahead: Let the potatoes go cold once cooked, then the gratin can be assembled a day ahead Prep/cooking: 40 mins Active time: 15–20 mins

450–500 grams waxy potatoes, such as Charlotte or Maris Peer, peeled and cut into 1cm slices 2 medium onions, peeled and cut into 1cm slices 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 8 tbsp thick tomato sauce (tinned or bottled) 150 grams whipping cream 2 portions of braised mackerel fillets, each cut into 4–5cm pieces 6 tbsp sliced flat-leaf parsley 60g Cheddar, grated Salt and cayenne pepper

Preheat your oven to 220°C/Gas 7, position upper middle shelf. Boil your kettle. Put a colander in your sink.

Start with the potatoes, onions and garlic. Fill a medium-sized saucepan with boiling water from your kettle. Add salt and a big pinch of cayenne. Bring back to the boil. Add the sliced potatoes, onions and garlic. Bring back to the boil. Cover, turn the heat to low and simmer gently for 7–8 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Drain thoroughly but carefully in your colander, so as not to break the potatoes up.

Get a baking dish, about 24 x 18cm, or medium-sized ovenproof frying pan. Brush it with the extra virgin olive oil. Put the potatoes and onions into the dish. Put the dish into the oven for 5 minutes to dry the potatoes. Season to taste with salt and cayenne.

Get a medium bowl. Add the tomato sauce and cream and stir them together. Season to taste with salt and cayenne.

Take half the potatoes, onions and garlic out of the dish. Spread the remainder out evenly in the dish so the base is completely covered. Cover the potatoes with half the tomato sauce and cream mixture. Put the mackerel and 3 tbsp of the parsley on top.

Layer the second half of the potatoes and onions over the mackerel. Finally, spread the remaining tomato sauce and cream mixture over the potatoes and onions. Sprinkle the remaining parsley and the cheese over the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Everybody Everyday by Alex Mackay | Bloomsbury | £20

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