Rising Brooklyn synthpop greats Nation Of Language are gearing up for the release of their new album A Way Forward, the follow-up to last year’s excellent debut Introduction, Presence, in a couple of months. Early tracks “Across That Fine Line,” “Wounds Of Love,” and “This Fractured Mind” have all showed the band subtly pushing their sound forward without losing any of their essential Nation Of Language-ness. And now they’re back with another new song, the moody synth ballad “A Word And A Wave.” As songwriter Ian Devaney explains:

I was thinking a lot about simple social gestures and how randomly important they can be in key moments. How empowering it can feel when someone remembers your name; how slighted you can feel when someone you only kind-of know passes by without acknowledgment. The song is a kind of vignette on someone who desperately wants to be the one that makes everyone feel good and has in turn neglected themself. Trying as hard as they can to be there for people who are barely in their lives, hoping that this will bring meaning and fulfillment, when it really just ends up leaving them emotionally spent and scattered.

Listen to “A Word And A Wave” below.

A Way Forward is out 11/5. Pre-order it here.