Nation of Language Announce New 7” Single, Release Cover Version of “Tougher Than the Rest” (Bruce Springsteen)

Nation of Language is sharing a striking new cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Tunnel of Love album track “Tougher Than the Rest.” The song will also be available on a limited-edition 7” single (of 1000 copies) on Friday, May 29th, worldwide from Sub Pop. It can now be preordered in North America through megamart.subpop.com, in the UK/EU from MegaMart Europe, and Bandcamp. The “Tougher Than the Rest” single will also be available at the band’s live shows this summer (while supplies last).
 
Nation of Language’s Ian Richard Devaney offers this on the track, “Like so many young New Jersey residents, I grew up listening to Springsteen, but this song somehow slipped by me during that formative era. I was really only exposed to it within the last few years, and it’s followed me around since then.
 
“I can remember finishing a particularly emotional show somewhere deep in last year’s tour, and our sound engineer, Skinny, started playing it as our exit music. It caught me so hard that I stayed there, just offstage, and listened to the rest of the song blasting, mixed with the sounds of all of the people milling about the venue.
 
“When we ultimately endeavored that we might try doing our own version of the song, we luckily had a Yamaha CS-80 at our disposal, the same synth model which featured pretty heavily across the Tunnel of Love sessions back in ’87. Knowing we were working with some of the same textures as the original made it a little less daunting to cover Bruce.”
 
Following a successful run of spring shows in Mexico and Japan, Nation of Language are announcing new headlining and festival dates scheduled for the summer & early fall of 2026 in support of their recent Sub Pop debut Dance Called Memory.
 
The touring starts Thursday, June 11th in Porto, PT at Primavera Sound Porto Parque Da Cidade, and currently runs through Saturday, September 26 in Portsmouth, NH at 3S Artspace.
 
Nation of Language will join Sub Pop labelmates Deep Sea Diver for two Pacific Northwest co-headlining shows, Friday, July 17th in Forest Grove, OR at Grand Lodge, and Saturday, July 18th in Carnation, WA at Remlinger Farms. The band’s previously announced support trek with Death Cab For Cutie in the Midwest and Southwestern US will also run from July 23rd to August 4th.
 
As for Nation of Language’s EU festival and headlining appearances in the EU, these include dates in the Czech Republic, Germany, Romania, Hungary, and Austria. The band will also play a series of shows in the UK, including a three-night residency in London at the Village Underground, Tuesday, August 18th-Thursday, August 20th.
 
Then in September, Nation of Language will headline a run of North American shows that includes stops in Baltimore, Columbus, Toronto, Montreal, and a hometown performance Saturday, September 19th at Brooklyn Paramount.
 
Please find a current list of tour dates below.
 

EU, June 2026
Thu. Jun. 11 - Porto, PT - Primavera Sound Porto Parque Da Cidade
Fri. Jun. 12 - Stuttgart, DE - About Pop Festival
Sat. Jun. 13 - Hilvarenbeek, NL - Best Kept Secret Festival
Tue. Jun. 16 - Lille, FR - L’Aeronef
Wed. Jun. 17 - Luxembourg, LU - Den Atelier
Thu. Jun. 18 - Lucerne, CH - B-Sides Festival
Fri. Jun. 19 - Lyon, FR - Transbordeur Club
Sun. Jun. 21 - Athens, GR - Release Athens Festival X SNF Nostos
Tue. Jun. 23 - Toulouse, FR - Le Bikini
Wed. Jun. 24 - Bordeaux, FR - Rock School Barbey
Sat. Jun. 27 - Camaiore, IT - La Prima Estate Festival
 
North America, July/August 2026
Thu. Jul. 09 - Ventura, CA - Ventura Music Hall
Fri. Jul. 10 - Las Vegas, NV - Swan Dive
Sun. Jul. 12 - Reno, NV - The Alpine
Tue. Jul. 14 - Felton, CA - Felton Music Hall
Wed. Jul. 15 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades
Fri. Jul. 17 - Forest Grove, OR - Grand Lodge *
Sat. Jul. 18 - Carnation, WA - Remlinger Farms *
Sun. Jul. 19 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
Wed. Jul. 22 - Asheville, NC - Eulogy
Thu. Jul. 23 - Nashville, TN - The Basement East
Fri. Jul. 24 - St. Louis, MO - Stifel Theatre ^
Sat. Jul. 25 - Bentonville, AR - The Momentary ^
Sun. Jul. 26 - Council Bluffs, IA - Harrah’s Stir Cove ^
Tue. Jul. 28 - Sandy, UT - Sandy Amphitheater ^
Wed. Jul. 29 - Sandy, UT - Sandy Amphitheater ^
Fri. Jul. 31 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Financial Theatre ^
Sun. Aug. 02 - Los Angeles, CA - The Greek Theatre ^
Mon. Aug. 03 - Los Angeles, CA - The Greek Theatre ^
Tue. Aug. 04 - San Diego, CA - Gallagher Square ^
 
UK/EU, August 2026
Fri. Aug. 07 - Brno, CZ - Pop Messe Festival
Sun. Aug. 09 - Buftea, RO - Summer Well Festival
Wed. Aug. 12 - Leipzig, DE - Täubchenthal
Fri. Aug. 14 - Budapest, HU - Sziget
Sat. Aug. 15 - Vienna, AT - Flex
Tue. Aug. 18 - London, UK - Village Underground
Wed. Aug. 19 - London, UK - Village Underground
Thu. Aug. 20 - London, UK - Village Underground [Sold Out]
Sat. Aug. 22 - Crickhowell, UK - Green Man Festival
Sun. Aug. 23 - Liverpool, UK - Camp and Furnace
Tue. Aug. 25 - Leeds, UK - Irish Centre
Wed. Aug. 26 - Bristol, UK - Electric Bristol
Thu. Aug. 27 - Norwich, UK - Waterfront
Sat. Aug. 29 - Málaga, ES - Canela Party
 
North America, September 2026
Wed. Sep. 16 - Millersville, Pennsylvania - Phantom Power
Thu. Sep. 17 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
Fri. Sep. 18 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar [Sold Out]
Sat. Sep. 19 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Paramount
Mon. Sep. 21 - Millvale, PA - Mr. Small’s Theater
Tue. Sep. 22 - Columbus, OH - Skullys
Thu. Sep. 24 - Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall
Fri. Sep. 25 - Montreal, QC - Theatre Beanfield
Sat. Sep. 26 - Portsmouth, NH - 3S Artspace
 
^ w/ Deep Sea Diver
^ w/ Death Cab For Cutie