New Translations Crave an Uncertain Life in Synth-Pop Gem ‘Modern Lovers’

Earlier this summer, New Translations were among the scene-stealers at a rock & roll takeover during CMA Fest in Nashville. The Music City indie-rock band, led by the charismatic frontperson Oliver Pierce, brought their synth sounds and kinetic stage show to Jon Bon Jovi’s honky-tonk downtown for a daylong bill headlined by Cage the Elephant. It was as weird, and invigorating, as it sounds.

On Friday, New Translations debuted one of the new songs they’ve been working on with producer Yves Rothman (Blondshell): “Modern Lovers” is a blast of hypnotic synth-pop that finds Pierce craving a time when life seemed uncertain. Surprisingly, he’s talking about the pandemic, when he and his friend circle were fantasizing about escaping to Thailand.

“It’s a song about the distance between who we were then and who we are now: the shortcomings, the vices, and the miles of hindsight,” Pierce says in a statement. “‘Modern Lovers’ is about longing — not to be who we were then, but for the feeling that anything was possible, whereas now so much of life feels so pathed out and certain.”

The track, which calls to mind the Killers and other kingpins of synth-rock, is also a preview of New Translations’ forthcoming album, the follow-up to their 2025 debut Vacation.
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Along with bands like Lombardy, Flight Attendant, and Snooper, who just performed on Rolling Stone’s Rock Tour with Die Spitz, New Translations are leading a new class of indie-rock in Nashville, a scene that has been elevated thanks in part to the Rocknite live showcases.

“Rocknite has done a really good job in establishing community of the alt scene, whether that’s alt-rock, pop, anything left of country,” Pierce told Rolling Stone in June. “Maybe in some way it’s infiltrating, but I’m happy to be a part of any sense of putting a spotlight on the community that we have. It’s been around for a long time and this is just a great magnifier.”