![]() The song catapults into action with some vintage drumming from Bryan Devendorf, one of a few entries on Laugh Track that remind the listener why he’s the band’s secret (or most underrated) weapon. It’s a somber track that sets the mood nicely, so much so that track #2 – the truly remarkable “ Deep End (Paul’s In Pieces)” feels like leaping off a high diving board into uncharted waters. Here at least, the only answer Berninger has is to wait for that mystery person at the door, until they return. Whether the two can go hand in hand successfully is the crux of many tracks by the band across two decades. I don’t miss the world, not the way it was I can’t get there Try to think of it, always at a loss I can’t get there All of your lonesomeness kept in your wallet Nobody notices, baby, you’ve got this His baritone traces a back-and-forth trail with a lover, bridging the gap between his own stubborn insecurities and the ability (or inability) to relate to another person. The National © Graham MacIndoeĪlbum opener “ Alphabet City,” one of two August singles that spurred speculation for a new LP, sees Berninger at his deep, dark, moody finest lyrically. Like discovering minuscule details every time you read a favorite book or watch a time-honored movie, The National are a group meant to be lived with, and their songs are meant to be lived in. That seems true on a first (or second, or third) listen, but The National are a band that grows and grows on you with each passing day. How many bands announce a new LP onstage at a true hometown festival – let alone a surprise release set to drop just days later? Beyond that, a second album in months? Again, those sorts of things defy convention for this studious band.ĭoubts, excitement and all, the album (which even reinvents the sparse cover of this year’s first LP in colorful fashion) proves that the band were right to move ahead with a new record – to say the least.Ĭritics have noted that between the two LPs, one could craft a single, stellar, 12-track album. ‘Laugh Track’, The National’s tenth album, released on September 18, 2023! That brings us back to Laugh Track, which collectively stunned the assembled faithful at Homecoming. It’s not something that happens.īut a creative wellspring flowed through the band as they worked on Frankenstein, and although many bands often say they end up with a vast array of extra material while working on a new album, The NTL are a group you can trust to deliver. Suffice to say, The National simply just don’t release two albums in one year. ![]() ![]() No album by The National is an easy feat, be it Berninger raging at guitarist Aaron Dessner during the making of 2007 classic Boxer, or the band recording dozens upon dozens of versions of one song (“Lemonworld”) for High Violet. ![]() The record ultimately examined a group that had to fight back and come together for each other, in a way. Lead singer Matt Berninger sang of writer’s block and depression, chronicling a band that was more fractured than before. This April’s excellent (if at times uneven) First Two Pages of Frankenstein seemed arduous enough. That possibility was exciting enough, given that the Grammy-winning band was already set to play two of its best albums (2010’s High Violet and 2013’s Trouble Will Find Me) in full at the fest, in a sort of post-pandemic celebration of sorts.īut a new album? That could be a bit of an overload, right? But heading into the second edition of The National’s Homecoming Festival in mid-September, there was a strong Internet-only buzz building: The National, the acclaimed indie band born in Brooklyn by way of Ohio, were set to release a second 2023 LP. It’s sometimes hard (and ill-advised) to put too much stock into things you read on the Internet – even a site with devoted fan communities like Reddit. ‘Laugh Track’ proves The National were right to blaze a new creative trail. For a band famously known for agonizing over albums, individual tracks and even lyrics, two records in one year is unprecedented.
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