Album: Boxer
Artist: The National
Born: Cincinnati, Ohio
Released: May 2007
Genre: Indie Rock
Success didn't come quickly for The National and it was only after the release of their third LP, Alligator (2005), that they started getting plaudits from the music press. This helped build anticipation for their fourth record, Boxer, which is easily their best in terms of songwriting and melodic hooks. The National often get tagged as part of the post-punk revival, with people drawing comparisons between songs like Mistaken For Strangers and Joy Division, but I don't really buy it. Their strength is indie pop with a moody, tense atmosphere, but it doesn't have the dark existential quality of Ian Curtis' songs. Siblings and lovers have the formed the core of many great bands, as mentioned before on this blog, and The National are a rare example of a group with two sets of brothers, Aaron Dessner (guitar / keyboards) and Bryce Dessner (guitar), as well as Scott Devendorf (bass guitar) and Bryan Devendorf (drums). The lead singer and main songwriter, Matt Berninger, gives the group its distinctive sound, with his low baritone voice and obscure impressionist lyrics. If you don't like anthemic indie rock, and I have to say my tolerance for it has lessened over the years, then The National really aren't for you. That said, before their records became over produced (from 2010's High Violet onwards), there was something more raw and less ponderous about their sound.
Apartment Story, as well as Fake Empire and Mistaken For Strangers, were released as singles from the album, but the album's strength is the quality of the non-singles. Some of my favourite tracks are Brainy, Ada and Racing Like A Pro. Sufjan Stevens, a friend of Bryce Dessner and a fellow composer, appears on the latter two tracks, contributing piano parts. Another collaborator, Padma Newsome, also contributes horns and strings on Ada, making it one of the most complex compositions on the record, but also arguably the best. The song paints the picture of a woman who is as cryptic as the lyrics themselves ("Ada, don't talk about reasons / why you don't want to talk about reasons / why you don't wanna talk"). Racing Like A Pro has a similar baroque sound and is also about a woman, but this time the lyrics are easier to understand; the song is about someone who was once young and creative ("a glowing young ruffian") but is now "shooting up the ladder" of the corporate world. Many of the songs have personal themes, with Slow Show and Apartment Story about relationships in jeopardy, but the group also touch on the political with songs like Fake Empire and Squalor Victoria. The National released a "making of" documentary for Boxer, which is a little slow in parts; my advice is just to listen to the album.
Success didn't come quickly for The National and it was only after the release of their third LP, Alligator (2005), that they started getting plaudits from the music press. This helped build anticipation for their fourth record, Boxer, which is easily their best in terms of songwriting and melodic hooks. The National often get tagged as part of the post-punk revival, with people drawing comparisons between songs like Mistaken For Strangers and Joy Division, but I don't really buy it. Their strength is indie pop with a moody, tense atmosphere, but it doesn't have the dark existential quality of Ian Curtis' songs. Siblings and lovers have the formed the core of many great bands, as mentioned before on this blog, and The National are a rare example of a group with two sets of brothers, Aaron Dessner (guitar / keyboards) and Bryce Dessner (guitar), as well as Scott Devendorf (bass guitar) and Bryan Devendorf (drums). The lead singer and main songwriter, Matt Berninger, gives the group its distinctive sound, with his low baritone voice and obscure impressionist lyrics. If you don't like anthemic indie rock, and I have to say my tolerance for it has lessened over the years, then The National really aren't for you. That said, before their records became over produced (from 2010's High Violet onwards), there was something more raw and less ponderous about their sound.
Apartment Story, as well as Fake Empire and Mistaken For Strangers, were released as singles from the album, but the album's strength is the quality of the non-singles. Some of my favourite tracks are Brainy, Ada and Racing Like A Pro. Sufjan Stevens, a friend of Bryce Dessner and a fellow composer, appears on the latter two tracks, contributing piano parts. Another collaborator, Padma Newsome, also contributes horns and strings on Ada, making it one of the most complex compositions on the record, but also arguably the best. The song paints the picture of a woman who is as cryptic as the lyrics themselves ("Ada, don't talk about reasons / why you don't want to talk about reasons / why you don't wanna talk"). Racing Like A Pro has a similar baroque sound and is also about a woman, but this time the lyrics are easier to understand; the song is about someone who was once young and creative ("a glowing young ruffian") but is now "shooting up the ladder" of the corporate world. Many of the songs have personal themes, with Slow Show and Apartment Story about relationships in jeopardy, but the group also touch on the political with songs like Fake Empire and Squalor Victoria. The National released a "making of" documentary for Boxer, which is a little slow in parts; my advice is just to listen to the album.
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