The National - Trouble Will Find Me

I overlooked 'High Violet' at first. I think I was a bit put off by the hype and the overwhelming championing from the Q/Mojo crowd. Revisited it recently and it’s as good as ‘Boxer’ for sure. ‘Alligator’ will always have a special place in my heart. Going to try and be a little less prejudiced towards the new one.

Boxer for me was like a younger more urban Bad Seeds record, while High Violet seemed like a somewhat edgier Coldplay album.

she's looking at you

I quite enjoyed High Violet and I kinda dig the cover. So ha.

And is Don't Swallow the Cap about ShRoOmZ?

European dates:

31 Oct Helsinki, Ice Hall
2 Nov Copenhagen, Forum
4 Nov Berlin, Max Schmelling Halle
5 Nov Dusseldorf, Mitsubishi Electric Hallen
6 Nov Luxembourg, Rockhal
7 Nov Amsterdam, Heineken Music Hall
9 Nov Belfast, Odyssey Arena
10 Nov Dublin, O2 Arena
11 Nov Manchester, O2 Apollo
13 Nov London, Alexandra Palace
18 Nov Paris, Le Zenith
20 Nov Madrid, Palacio Vistalegre
21 Nov Lisbon, Pavilhao Atlantico

Pre Sale - Tuesday 9th
General - Thurs 11th [although site says 13th]

More info

http://www.americanmary.com/tour.php

In terms of design, the album art is fine, but distorted or severed faces are just viscerally disgusting.

lol I was just about to comment that I love the cover art, but it's already been slammed twice.

― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, April 3, 2013 1:02 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah this looks pretty cool imo. Would be better without the copy, especially the widow. Why would the designer do that?

So here's this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N527oBKIPMc

it's generous and easy, which aren't qualities i would typically use to describe a national song. looking forward to hearing the rest of the album.

it probably makes them feel better that it's in 7 at least

this song makes me look forward to hearing the album, which is a good way to feel after adoring Alligator/Boxer and being pretty disappointed by HV. should probably revisit HV, tho

Six new songs here:

http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/04/watch-the-national-perform-six-new-songs/

"Demons" is good, will wait to hear the rest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bFnA-8H-5lo

There's a fine line between knowing your strengths as a band and just doing the same thing over and over and over. I think The National used to practice the former and are now (and have been for a minute) victims of the latter.

Hm. So they're a minor band? ain't nuthin wrong with it

There was a definite progression on the first three records, but I feel like beginning with Boxer they kind of found a sweet* spot and haven't left it since 2007.

(*Some people love it and that's cool. Bores me, though.)

these two songs have had more melody/hooks than the ones on high violet, i'm hopeful

i agree with you JF but in the same way that the new daft punk snippets sound like a retread of 'harder better' i'm all for this being a retread of boxer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIWmRbHDhGw

h/t brad

oh man i was just about to update this thread

so yeah i'm not one of the people who hates high violet and like alligator and boxer hit sweet melancholic spots that basically no other indie rock does for me; i was kind of bored by "demons" but "sea of love" is great

and you know this is a band who have a really specific groove, who know how to play with each other, and they have a great drummer, and i am really easily thrilled by unusual time signatures so i am basically prepared to love this album

Hey, whatdoyaknow...that one's REALLY good.

hey joe sorry i hurt you but
they say, love is a virtue
don't they?

Graceless and the one with salt in the title are the standouts. This sticks to their tried and true.

so yeah i'm not one of the people who hates high violet and like alligator and boxer hit sweet melancholic spots that basically no other indie rock does for me; i was kind of bored by "demons" but "sea of love" is great

― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Wednesday, May 8, 2013 12:42 PM (17 minutes ago) Bookmark

heh i love alligator / boxer and didn't cotton to high violet; the national are at their best for me when they construct their songs around two, three, really strong hooks; basically all of alligator is like that, parts of boxer. for these new songs, really seems they've found their ear for melody again, and have tightened up the song structures; nothing as meandering and rambling as high violet, i really only fuck with bloodbuzz ohio off that one

I love "England," though -- it sounds like John Cale in orchestral mode.

Vanderlyle! Stuffed with melody and hooks.

in the wrong mood I want to throttle these guys

'throttle' eh

Vanderlyle Crybaby Cry is awesome, I don't really get how ppl can love Alligator and Boxer and hate HV... It's not like it was that much of a departure. Anyway, I hope this one is different somehow because they've mined their goth springsteen with expressionistic lyrics schtick for about as much as its worth, which was a lot (3 classic albums.) i hope this is a disco record in the mode of lcd soundsystem, or something. Their "Some Girls." hate the cover.

If a bunch of tracks already leaked and what i said makes no sense, sorry

a bunch of tracks have been released and they essentially mine the same sound but they're all more complicated

And still no mention of my favorite, 'Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers'. Guess you had to be there? :)

Fwiw I liked High Violet a lot, too. I am refraining from listening to all these songs dripping out though, I am holding out for the album so I can take it in in one go, which seems to be how I enjoy the National the most.

could never get into SSFDL much beyond "Lucky You" which is one of their best songs

That is a beautiful song, yes

agree, that's a good one. my favorite song by them is "slow show" off boxer. i think all their album covers have been borderline disasters though, with this one being the worst. why can't they find a visual aesthetic that fits with their highly developed, distinctive sound?

The text element on the cover of Alligator is awesome fuiud

haha i really love this album cover, and i liked all the high violent variations. v pretty photo on boxer too? idk

i've liked all of them except high violet

I love the s/t one and it's cover

Звуки Му - грубый закат (1995)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfKqjHLdetM

http://youtu.be/WfKqjHLdetM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfKqjHLdetM

lmao

Thanks :)
"Simply paste in the URL of the YouTube web page containing the video you wish to embed" – not so simple!

it used to be

It doesn't work with the new "convenient" short urls, and it doesn't work if it's https instead of http. Youtube is on crack.

wait, young galaxy?

"the pull of you" is absolutely perfect

first testament was really great
the sequel was incredible
like the godfathers or the first two strokes
every document's indelible

"not in kansas" -> "so far so fast" are like the two best national songs ever, right in a row

and "oblivions" is the kind of song only they could write

There's some lovely stuff on this record. I don't know if it is their best album, but on first listen there is nothing that stands out as a reason why it couldn't be.

Man, "Not In Kansas." It's been ... I don't know how long since I heard a song that made me want to focus on and figure out its lyrics so badly.

when "Rylan starts, I sing, "Got my mind SET. ON. YOU."

i like the "flowers of guatamala" reference ("the flowers cover over everything") a couple of verses after "i'm listening to r.e.m. again"

The contemporary classical bent of whichever one of the brothers is into that stuff really pays off on this album's arrangements.

this is so long and so unified in its approach that I'm having a hard time parsing individual songs as opposed to a constantly alternating set of peaks and valleys. which I guess for some will be sort of an apotheosis of Their Thing but I'm not really finding any points of entry beyond a few standout ideas here and there. "You Had Your Soul With You" had me hoping this wouldn't be the case. (as always I reserve the right to change my mind later lol)

like, there are a ton of sonic ideas here but all of them are incorporated into every single track, y'know? relax!!

Brad, you are getting me very excited about this new album. it's not on Spotify until Friday however.

They're the most intricately boring band I've ever heard.

"you had your soul with you" is absolutely their best track ever

simon i have a feeling you’ll like this the more you spend time with it. it wasn’t billed as a double album but it works like one: the songs talk to each other, and it works itself into weird subspaces. oddly i think watching the movie is a way in too, it enriches specific lyrics

i will say the album is more ballad-forward than i expected or hoped but i’ve already adjusted

yeah same

the only real dud for me is Rylan which i know is apparently a fan favourite because it's been floating around for 8 years or something but it's still them at their most middle-of-the-road even though the arrangement is a lot better than it would have been a decade ago

I think the album is a bundle of good contradictions. It's not really a double album but feels like one, it's ballad heavy but not necessarily chill, it's got some of Matt's best lyrics and singing but he often takes a back seat to other singers and singing, it's got some pretty jarring experimental elements but it's totally MOR. And so on.

Oh, and needless to say, the drumming is incredible.

i love every lyric and sound in "quiet light"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S37thEwlWPA

good performance of "you had your soul with you", with string section and second drummer (no gail ann dorsey though)

learning how not to cry every time there's another sad unbearable morning
but sometimes there's nothing i can do
i can't help it

the drumming on "quiet light" is brilliant, bryan devendorf seems to get better with every album somehow

So these guys are definitely going all-in on everything - strings, singers, horns, etc. - for this tour?

they've had a horn section forever but idk whether the strings etc. are sticking around for the tour or are only around for the run of album/film premiere dates they've been doing over the last month

wow i REALLY love this album

https://www.nme.com/news/national-rockier-songs-leftover-may-get-freezer-2488317

apparently they've got a bunch of rockier material left over from the Sleep Well Beast sessions that didn't make this album either since it didn't fit the mood of the film etc. so i hope that'll be more "the system only dreams"/"you had your soul with you" than "turtleneck" whenever it sees the light of day

The contemporary classical bent of whichever one of the brothers is into that stuff really pays off on this album's arrangements.

That is Bryce! His own chamber music is def worth checking out

it's the way that you're going to stop needing to tell me you want me as much as i want you to

Their best album.

yep

I've never top tenned one of their albums before.

me neither, and it usually takes me a while to figure out how i feel about them, cf. the album this thread is named after

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbXnnn8z1tE

i get why people would dismiss "rylan," feels like it's borrowed most of its rumble from "apartment story" to create the most national national song ever, but... it's so catchy

I just thought of perfect "feat. female guest singer" example that kind of pulls off what this album does: "My Curse," by fellow (can it be a coincidence?) Cincinnati sons Afghan Whigs.

Also, maybe "You're Still Standing There" by Steve Earle, when previously more or less AWOL Lucinda Williams suddenly pops up.

I didn't realize that the album was made in such close collaboration with Mike Mills, who even produced. Has he produced anything else?

Marcy Mays on "My Curse" feels to me like much more direct and successful attempt at a counterpoint/perspective change than anything here.

anyway I can already tell this is going to be yet another one of those albums where I stick to listening to my own resequence/edit and get a lot more out of it that way

i made a thread: thread for i am easy to find, the 2019 album by the national and film by mike mills

There are lots of candidates, but this really is the best album by them, isn't it? So sad and pretty.

it is

This is by far my favourite album of theirs. There's real sadness but also exaggerated sadness (played for humour, I think?), similar to what Tindersticks used to do. It's a perfect balance that they haven't managed to duplicate since.