Pages tagged “the national”

Today is World AIDS Day. Appropriately enough, it's also the day that the line-up was revealed for Dark Was the Night, a compilation release which will benefit AIDS/HIV awareness group, The Red Hot Organization.

In honor of Paste’s new Lifestyle section (look for its debut in the Dec/Jan issue), let’s put together an outfit using seven of the best songs about fashion.

Start with the main attraction: a pretty dress. Pick a black one that gets you lots of compliments.

1.Sufjan Stevens “That Dress Looks Nice On You"

Compelling new music balances flawed film

The National is an intensely necessary band right now. Pop has, in fact, begun to eat itself, with far too many artists to retain in our all-too-brief memory loops. The National seeks to retrain us in the art of listening. Their albums are beautiful, elaborate slow-growers, articulating uncertainty and angst with a coldly wistful humor. They operate with a kind of post-rock remove—they’re slightly scruffy guys who rarely, if ever, call attention to themselves outside the confines of the stage. Making themselves the subjects of a film, then, is a dangerous scramble to the edge of a limb. For a band with music that’s often described as “cinematic,” there’s a risk that replacing the visions listeners have fabricated in their own imaginations with images mandated by the band could be an intrusive, aggressive and unwelcome gesture.

As previously reported, Merge records is celebrating its first 20 years with a uber-special box set, released in 14 special editions and curated by some special musically inclined guests. Already announced? The currently guitar-less Peter Buck (of R.E.M.) and Junebug director Phil Morrison. Think that's exciting? Just wait until you hear who else the indie label has on the dock for your listening pleasure.

When music critics talk about Matt Berninger, lead singer of chamber-rock band The National, it’s usually in the context of discussing his baritone singing voice. (He jokes that it’s been compared to every brand of whiskey in existence.) But, while his voice does take you off guard, I’ve always been more fascinated with the lyrics he writes. Berninger adds just enough concrete detail to keep the songs grounded in reality but leaves the edges jagged and impressionistic so your mind is free to wander where it will. When I sat down with the band in September of 2007, I asked him about some specific lines from Paste’s #1 record of that year, Boxer. His explanation of the lyric I quoted from “Guest Room” was markedly different from my interpretation. And by “different,” I mean infinitely less disturbing. Read on.

SXSW may be more popular, but it certainly isn't the only music festival rocking Austin, Texas,  yearly. Beat the heat (and the crowds) at Transmission Entertainment's Fun Fun Fun Festival, which is held in Waterloo Park Nov. 8-9, features punk-rock legends (ALL, Flipper, Bad Brains) rubbing elbows with newer indie bands (Deerhoof, St. Vincent, The National), plus a whole host of other activities including band dunking booths, tattoo stands and comedy shows.

Hungry for change in this Fake Empire? Looking for a president who hopefully won't Start A War? The National think that Barack Obama might be just the man for the job. If you share their opinion, now's your opportunity to support your candidate of choice (not to mention Paste's 2007 Band of the Year) by purchasing an oh-so-clever t-shirt from The National's website.

Forget that R.E.M.'s new record is their best in years. Forget that even when their albums started sucking, their live shows remained phenomenal. Forget that one of the openers is one of the best young bands around (The National, whose album was declared by Paste as the best of last year—an honor that has gone to their heads, according to Rainn Wilson). And forget that Modest Mouse is also on the bill. This one thing is reason enough for you to make sure you get out to see R.E.M. on their North American tour...

If you were at the Sasquatch! festival over Memorial Day weekend, you probably saw actor Rainn Wilson introduce a band. Or you bumped into him as you were wandering from the Wookie! Stage to the Yeti! Stage. Or maybe you saw him get into a tumble-on-the-ground fist fight with the dude selling 24 oz. cans of Coors Light for $12.

It’s been quite a year for The National. The band released Boxer, Paste’s favorite album of 2007, just less than 365 days ago on May 22. Ever since, the band has been taking the masterful collection of songs to audiences around the world, and the trip isn't finished yet. May 23 kicks off a month of tour dates supporting R.E.M. with Modest Mouse, followed by a slew of European festival stops until August.

On May 20, Beggars Banquet will release A Skin, A Night, a film that documents the making of The National's Boxer—Paste's favorite album of 2007. What's more, the documentary was filmed by Vincent Moon, the man behind La Blogotheque's stunning Take-Away Shows, who calls The National "the greatest American rock band." We're pretty excited about the film here at Paste, and even more so now that the label has announced that a 12-song bonus CD of demos, covers and live performances will accompany the DVD release.

It's called The Virginia EP, and it includes:

1. You've Done It Again, Virginia
2. Santa Clara
3. Blank Slate
4. Tall Saint (demo)
5. Without Permission
6. Forever After Days (demo)
7. Rest of Years (demo)
8. Slow Show (demo)
9. Lucky You (from The National's Daytrotter Session)
10. Mansion on the Hill (live)
11. Fake Empire (live)
12. About Today (live)

For a taste of what The National looks like when filmed by Vincent Moon, check out "Start A War" from the Take-Away Show they shot last September. It's one of the most beautiful in the La Blogotheque series, which is saying something.

You can watch the film's trailer and pre-order A Skin, A Night here.

The National's about to embark on a stint of American and European festival stops as well as a slew of dates with R.E.M and Modest Mouse.

The National (and international) dates:

April
25 - Indio, Calif. @ Coachella Music Festival

May
3 - Grantham, Pa. @ Messiah College
11- Lisbon @ Aula Magna
13 - Dublin @ Olympia Theatre
14 - Dublin @ Olympia Theatre
15 - Dublin @ Olympia Theatre
17 - Minehead, UK @ ATP Festival
23 - Vancouver, British Columbia @ Deer Lake Park w/R.E.M., Modest Mouse
29 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Hollywood Bowl w/R.E.M., Modest Mouse
31 - Berkeley, Calif. @ Greek Theatre w/R.E.M., Modest Mouse

June
3 - Denver, Colo. @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre w/R.E.M., Modest Mouse
6 - Chicago, Ill. @ United Center w/R.E.M., Modest Mouse
7 - Pontiac, Mich. @ The Crofoot Ballroom
8 - Toronto, Ontario @ Molson Amphitheatre w/R.E.M., Modest Mouse
10 - Raleigh, N.C. @ Walnut Creek Amphitheatre w/R.E.M., Modest Mouse
11 - Columbia, Md. @ Merriweather Post Pavilion w/R.E.M., Modest Mouse
13 - Boston, Mass. @ Tweeter Center w/R.E.M., Modest Mouse
14 - Wantagh, N.Y. @ Jones Beach w/R.E.M., Modest Mouse
18 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Mann Center w/R.E.M., Modest Mouse
19 - New York, N.Y. @ Madison Square Garden w/R.E.M., Modest Mouse
21 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Lakewood Amphitheatre w/R.E.M., Modest Mouse

July
3 - Werchter @ Rock Werchter
4 - London @ O2 Wireless Festival
6 - Turku @ Ruisrock 2008
10 - Lisbon @ Optimus Alive! Festival
13 - Balado, Kinross-Shire, Scotland @ T In the Park
15 - Athens @ Fly Beeyond Festival
20 - Banicassim, Valencia @ Benicassim Festival

August
7 - Oslo @ Oya Festival
8 - Goteborg @ Way Out West Festival
9 - Rees-Haldern @ Haldern Pop Festival
11 - Copenhagen @ Vega
15 - Biddinghuizen @ Lowlands Festival
17 - Brecon Beacons @ The Green Man Festival

Related links:
Beggars.com
VincentMoon.com
Paste: Blogs: Ctrl-V: A National Anthem: Langerado's Lovely Ending

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

Recently, the band behind Paste’s top record of 2007 quietly released a live EP to remind those not in the know just what they are missing. The National's latest, titled Rhapsody Rocks NYC, was released exclusively via online music retailer Rhapsody. (And really, it would have been in bad taste to release it on iTunes with a title like that.) The EP features four songs from the band's last album, Boxer, recorded during the CMJ Music Marathon.

Aside from a live EP, fans will get another chance to experience The National in person. As previously reported, the band of brotherly love will hit a few music festivals in late spring, then support Modest Mouse and R.E.M. for some summer jaunts.

Rhapsody Rocks NYC track list:
Mistaken for Strangers
Brainy
Slow Show
Fake Empire

Related Links:
AmericanMary.com
Rhapsody.com: Rhapsody Rocks NYC
Paste feature: The National Grow Up! Look Sharp! Be Responsible!

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

Anyone who frequents PasteMagazine.com knows that our hearts were stolen last year by a certain Ohio-cum-Brooklyn, patriotically named indie-rock band that features two pairs of brothers and a gravel-voiced lead singer.

Not only did we declare The National a Band of the Week last May, but the group also graced our December/January cover. We did all this with good reason, though. After all, The National did make the #1 album of 2007.

Good news, then, since it was announced recently that the band has not only added more tour dates for the spring (and made thousands of fans jealous of those living in the U.K.), but that this May and June they will be touring as support for none other than R.E.M. Oh, yes. The National, R.E.M. and Modest Mouse will conduct a late spring/early summer tour across the United States and Canada, starting in Vancouver on May 23 and ending in Atlanta on June 21.

Also in the works is A Skin, A Night, the Vincent Moon film that was announced in 2006. Shot during the making of Boxer, the almost-documentary will be shown at San Francisco's Noise Pop Festival in March.

Tickets to the upcoming super-tour have yet to be released. In the meantime, enjoy this sneak preview of the upcoming documentary:

The National, solo dates:

February:
22 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ BAM Opera House*
23 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ BAM Opera House*

March:
9 - Big Cypress Reservation, Fla. @ Langerado Music Festival

April:
25 - Indio, Calif. @ Coachella Festival

May:
14 - Dublin, Ireland @ Olympia Theatre
15 - Dublin, Ireland @ Olympia Theatre
16-18 - Minehead, Somerset U.K. @ All Tomorrow's Parties Festival

R.E.M., The National & Modest Mouse:

May:
23 - Vancouver, B.C. @ Deer Lake Park
29 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Hollywood Bowl
31 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Greek Theatre

June:
3 - Denver, Colo. @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
6 - Chicago, Ill. @ United Center
8 - Toronto, O.N. @ Molson Amphitheatre
10 - Raleigh, N.C. @ Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
11 - Columbia, Md. @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
13 - Boston, Mass. @ Tweeter Center
14 - Long Island, N.Y. @ Jones Beach
18 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Mann Center
19 - New York, N.Y. @ TBD
21 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Lakewood Amphitheatre

* - indicates w/ My Brightest Diamond

Related links:
The National on MySpace
R.E.M. on MySpace
Modest Mouse on MySpace

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

Recently, we revealed our #1 album of the year 2007. Of course, you probably know by now that that honor went to the Brooklyn-based quintet, The National, and its slow-burner of a record, Boxer.

As of late, the band has been touring around the world, but having completed their European engagement, the Cincinnati-bred boys will be heading over to entertain the Aussies and the Kiwis throughout the month of January.

Still, The National has not forgot about its fellow countrymen. On Feb. 22, the group will take the stage at the Brooklyn Academy of Music as a part of the Brooklyn Next series. Other artists performing their own shows include Soulive and Citizen Cope. Tickets are now on available through the BAM box office.

Dates:

January
15 - Auckland, New Zealand @ Kings Arms
16-17 - Brisbane, Australia @ The Zoo
18-19 - Melbourne, Australia - The Corner
21-23 - Sydney, Australia - City Recital Hall Angel Place w/ Clogs

February
22 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ BAM Opera House

March
9 - Big Cypress Reservation, Fla. @ Langerado Music Festival

Related links:
AmericanMary.com (The National official site)
BAM.org
Paste: The National: Grow up! Look sharp! Be responsible!

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.

The Brooklyn-via-Cincinnati band that cut 2007's best album, Boxer, hasn't tossed out the dry cleaner's phone number just yet. If Bruce Springsteen is The Boss, consider National frontman Matt Berninger The Chairman (of the Bored). Ladies and gentlemen, meet the white-collar E Street Band.

-----

Oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over you
Surprise, surprise, they wouldn’t want to watch
Another uninnocent, elegant fall into the
unmagnificent lives of adults
— “Mistaken For Strangers”

On a blissfully mild, leaf-sprinkled New York City afternoon, the five members of The National settle in around a vacant picnic table situated near the west edge of Central Park. Matt Berninger, The National’s frontman and lyricist, recalls spending his lunch breaks in this part of the park while interning at a nearby graphic-design firm during the mid ’90s. Hailing from the suburbs of Cincinnati and not quite inured to Manhattan’s dogged pace, he’d wander beneath the park’s leafy canopy each afternoon to momentarily purge his mind of the workday flood.

In one sense, that kind of stress populated a different lifetime.

Matt quit his day job at design house Icon Nicholson in 2005 to sing and write songs full-time. His band is home for a couple weeks before starting the European leg of its fall tour. But the 36-year-old looks tapped. His short, sandy-blond hair is tousled—and not stylishly so. The facial growth lining his angular jaw appears to be a few days old, and his gaze is warm but heavy-lidded.

The band recently played four evening concerts in the span of five days, delivering its beguiling mix of chamber pop, atmospheric folk and vaguely menacing post-punk to 3,000-plus people at Manhattan mega-venue Terminal 5’s sold-out opening, a private Rhapsody party at The Highline Ballroom, and a two-night stand at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Today the musicians came straight to their Paste interview from XM’s New York studios, where they’d recorded several songs for future broadcast.

A week ago, Matt and his longtime girlfriend Carin—an editor at The New Yorker whom he met at a Brooklyn bar (“She was with a friend and I just walked up to her. Only time I’ve ever done that. I was always pretty shy, went to an all-boys high school and didn’t even kiss a girl until college.”)—found time to visit City Hall and tie the knot. They’re entertaining out-of-town family and hosting a reception in a couple days to celebrate the occasion.

National guitarist Aaron Dessner recently lost his passport and is hunched over the picnic table filling out a replacement-request form, which his twin brother Bryce (who also plays guitar in The National) is helping him decipher. The band’s other siblings, drummer Bryan Devendorf and guitarist/bassist Scott Devendorf, discuss plans to visit Gibson showroom across town to return a loaner Firebird guitar.

This is what your band’s down time looks like when you release the most gorgeous, affecting record of the year. When mounting blog attention, an endorsement of your live show from celebrity fan Benicio Del Toro in Esquire’s October ’07 cover story (“‘They were great, they were great, they were great,’ [Del Toro] chants”), ambitious touring (including a stint opening for indie titans the Arcade Fire), a Letterman appearance and sparkling word-of-mouth finally catch up with you. Success has a funny way of robbing people of the time they might otherwise spend savoring it. Still, from The National, all you get in this situation is a “sleep when we’re dead” nonchalance.

“We’re just really happy that people are finally paying attention to us,” Matt says. “I know that’s not the rock ’n roll thing to say, but there were so many years that nobody asked us any questions about our records that we’re happy to answer them now. We’ll be touring non-stop through the end of the year, ending up in Moscow. I haven’t been there, so it’ll be exciting. It’s gonna be kind of a busy year.”

The National’s abbreviated to-do list:

(1) Understate, (2) Over-deliver.

Fashion credit:
Matt: Nice Collective military sweater available at Odin

-----

Your mind is racing like a pro now
Oh my god it doesn’t mean a lot to you
One time you were a glowing young ruffian
Oh my god it was a million years ago
— “Racing Like A Pro”

Trace back the roots of an indie-rock band far enough and you expect to wind up in a garage practice space, subterranean dance club, cluttered record store, hole-in-the-wall bar or—at the very least—a college dorm room. Where you don’t expect to land is a middle-school gymnasium in the suburbs of Cincinnati. But that’s where The National’s story begins.

The Dessner twins, Aaron and Bryce, were point guards on the middle-school basketball team, and Bryan Devendorf—well on the way to his current height of 6’6”—played center. But the guys weren’t merely interested in sports and had, separately, begun picking up instruments. During their freshman year of high school, a mutual friend suggested they start a band since he knew Bryan was playing drums and the twins were both playing guitar.

“So we started a band that played at all the parties,” Aaron recalls. “We basically played Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers covers, or we’d learn a fIREHOSE song or play a bad Pixies cover.” At the University of Cincinnati, Matt and Scott played in a band called Nancy until graduation, and then music was put on hold for several years as they moved to New York to pursue graphic-design careers. Aaron and Bryan eventually settled in New York as well. Over the next year and a half, the Devendorf brothers and Aaron created musical sketches that Matt would sing over.

Eventually the band worked up enough material that it made sense to record an album. The National’s self-titled debut came out in 2001 on Brassland Records—a label started by the Dessners and friend Alec Hanley Bemis. The National still hadn’t played a single show.

“That’s actually when we realized we needed my brother to join the band,” Aaron says. “Bryce was living in Paris and teaching classical guitar but he agreed to move back over and start playing with us live.”

Even though playing shows seemed the obvious next step for a band with a newly pressed record, The National struggled to secure gigs. Dropping the record off at clubs all over town didn’t translate to bookings, so they settled for the occasional open mic and played frequently at a small art space in Brooklyn called Galapagos.

“Playing live was a struggle, at least for me,” Matt says. “It was just semi-traumatic—a good experience but like jumping into freezing water. After every show I’d go home and feel really good about it, like I’d just battled a fear. But it was never easy. It still isn’t.”

The band’s persistence paid off over time. The Mercury Lounge booked them for an early show and a few bits of press floated to the surface, including a coveted review on Pitchforkmedia.com (“they said, ‘you might as well just wait for the next Silver Jews record’ or something,” Matt laughs). Then a small French label licensed their self-titled album for release overseas. The band traveled to Paris to play a show, which sold out thanks to a feature article in a respected French newspaper. The band was starting to feel halfway legitimate.

“We all saw stars,” says Matt. “We played on this little boat called Guinguette Pirate, and it was the first time we’d played outside New York. When we first played at Mercury Lounge—granted, it was basically our friends who showed up to see us—I remember being on that stage and feeling like, 'OK, we played onstage at Mercury Lounge, we're a band.'

“But when we played in Paris on this little boat in front of total strangers, and it was packed, that’s when I started to entertain the delusional fantasy of being in a rock band and maybe not being a graphic designer anymore. … After we got home from that trip, I’d sit at my desk with work up on my computer and just be listening to song sketches we were working on, writing lyrics all day if I could get away with it, and then try and squeeze in a full day’s work in that last hour. Or I’d be in conference rooms presenting to clients like MasterCard, Pfizer or Motorola and find myself scribbling lyrics in the margins of my meeting notes. Writing songs started to take over and it became harder and harder to concentrate on anything else.”

The National quietly released its second full-length, Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers, in 2003 and began touring behind it almost immediately. The result was infinitely less magical than that dreamy Paris gig. Band members burned up all their vacation time to tour, and wound up serenading bartenders and miniscule crowds. Less stubborn bands would’ve packed it in.

The harsh midnight of obscurity broke gradually after the band released 2005’s Alligator on U.K. label Beggars Banquet. Listeners sprang to attention, assuming it was The National’s debut. Superlatives came flying from all directions. Billboard called it “one of the year’s finest records.” Uncut gave Alligator a perfect rating, calling it “the band’s first masterpiece.” The L.A. Times’ Kevin Bronson touted it as his favorite record of 2005.

Songs from Alligator, such as “Lit Up,” “Abel” and “Mr. November,” knocked out critics—and, at last, burgeoning audiences—with singalong-ready choruses and feverish, melodic hooks. Matt’s distinctively resonant baritone (he’s simultaneously amused and flattered that music critics have compared it to “every different type of whiskey”) came into its own, displaying even more confidence in its ability to turn on a dime from a disaffectedly gorgeous croon to cathartic holler. The louder the racket the band produced, the warmer the response. The National’s fanbase practically grew by the decibel.

Surely 2007’s Boxer would build on that raucous recipe.

Anything else would be self-sabotage, right?

Right?

Fashion credit:
Matt: Converse by John Varvatos long sleeve button down navy shirt

-----

Underline everything, I’m a professional
In my beloved white shirt
I’m going down among the saints
— “Squalor Victoria”

Although Boxer is the most glorious achievement of the band’s career, the deceptively subdued album put up a fight utterly befitting of its punchy, one-word title.

“I had absolutely no perspective toward the end,” Aaron sighs, “because it was such a feverish, desperate search for almost every song. I don’t know why, but this album was really, really difficult. It was a struggle both creatively and sort of existentially to arrive somewhere that felt right. There was a point at which I think we were actually scared we wouldn’t arrive somewhere that we were happy about. Even in the last days of mixing, we were pulling songs apart."

Listening to Boxer, you’d have no idea the creative process was such an excruciating journey. The 12 songs on the record flow seamlessly (both musically and thematically), from the syncopated piano chords that open “Fake Empire” to the toasty-warm acoustic strums ushering out album-closer “Gospel.” The exquisite orchestrations and horn arrangements contributed by Australia-based, part-time sixth member Padma Newsome (who met Bryce in Yale’s music conservatory) lends the record an unabashed elegance that transcends lazy indie-rock tags.

For someone who's spent his professional career working in a visual medium, Matt writes lyrics that display a profoundly literate sensibility. He inserts just enough lucid scene-setting—the “silvery, silvery Citibank lights” of the record’s first single, “Mistaken For Strangers”—to locate his characters in the real world, but he’s careful to leave the narrative loose enough (he likes to call it “milky”) to allow for a thousand shadowy scenarios. His characters toy with adulthood and dress for success, but they also grapple with near-paralyzing insecurity.

Matt does for the white-collar corporate striver what Bruce Springsteen has built a career doing for blue-collar laborers and hustlers; he humanizes the struggle to be responsible, monogamous and financially solvent. It’s no surprise that Springsteen has taken such a shine to The National, famously accosting the band after it covered his “Mansion on the Hill” at a 2006 tribute to the record Nebraska (Matt: “Aaron, wasn’t he giving you advice on how to play a show in front of like a million people?” Aaron: “Yeah, he said there’s a difference between creating a wave and riding a wave. That was his big thing.”)

Some have criticized Springsteen for positioning himself as the voice of the working class when his wealth and fame afford him such cushiony privilege. Matt, for his part, feels a strong need to stay in tune with the rhythm and responsibilities of the working world.

“I still go back and do freelance graphic design, when I have enough time, because it lets me use my brain for something else. If the band becomes everything, you start to put too much pressure on it. It starts to become loaded in weird ways. After a while, it's very hard to write a song that’s interesting. You end up writing about the stresses of being in a band. Who wants to hear a song about being drunk on a bus in the middle of Europe?

“That’s one of the reasons why Boxer took a long time. We’d spent so much time on the road with Alligator that when we were done, I think it took me a long time to disconnect from the band and live a normal life and go to work and commute and get on the subway every day—all of those things you start to remember are interesting and worthy of songs.”

Cover shot/page 1 fashion credits (see upper-left corner of your screen):

Matt: Converse by John Varavatos long sleeve button down navy shirt
Bryce: Niibo black button down long sleeve shirt with white buttons (from Odin)
Aaron: Trovata navy corduroy blazer (from Odin), Trovata long sleeve red/ white striped button down shirt (from Odin)
Scott: Diesel black military shirt
Bryan: Rag & Bone black combat shirt (available at Odin), Oliver Spencer moth grey long sleeve yoke shirt (available at Odin)
Padma: Converse by John Varvatos short sleeve mini stripe woven trim crew, Converse by John Varavatos long sleeve grey snap henley, Rock & Republic black suit jacket with gold buttons on wrist

The new video for the National's "Apartment Story" (courtesy of Stereogum) confirms what fans of the Brooklyn quintet already knew - the National is an utterly irresistible force of nature. Go on, just try to have a cocktail discussion while Matt Berninger and the Four Brothers are playing. Even as you try to focus on your companion's story about her semester abroad in New Zealand, the beat will work its way into your head by degrees. Soon, your toe starts tapping. Your head starts nodding. Now you've abandoned all pretensions of social nicety. You're on the floor, gyrating awkwardly to the pulse.

The message is clear: obey the National as you would obey your TV. Go see your indie overlords, on tour now.

They'll be waiting.

Related Links:
Paste: Boxer Review
Paste: 1,000 Words - The National
The National on MySpace

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.

A seamlessly constructed but frequently restrained follow-up to a classic

The National’s last effort, Alligator, was one of 2005’s best—and most durable—releases. Following in that album’s bolder footsteps, Boxer is enveloping, rich and brooding but somehow less charged. Musically, The National continues getting excellent mileage from the arresting juxtaposition of propulsion and languor on songs like “Squalor Victoria,” where the staccato tom-toms tear through the grey gelatinous wash of strings like a knife fight in frame-by-frame slow motion. At moments, the mix of Berninger’s moaning voice, the occasional smart-aleck barb in the lyrics and the general patina of rumination makes The National a dead ringer for American Music Club, but unlike Eitzel’s more impressionistic creations, the songs on Boxer tend to stay within their frames and rarely careen into the weirder corners one senses they’re capable of finding. Here, most gestures remain a bit too consciously panoramic—elegant enough for comfort but often not chancy enough to be breathtaking.

Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Fun Fact: Guitarist Bryce Dessner also plays in avant-classical collective Clogs with The National’s go-to orchestral wiz Padma Newsome.
Why They're Worth Watching: Vocalist Matt Berninger’s low-slung baritone proffers some of the best lyrics in indie rock.
For Fans Of: Leonard Cohen, American Music Club, Morrissey

Like a dogged clock-puncher, The National has labored for years in obscurity, writing record after record of sharp, sorrowful indie rock obsessed with the tragedy and absurdity of this thing we call “living.” The band's biggest (and slowest-burning) success came in the form of 2005's Alligator, a fiery album fixated on the internal conflicts we all experience. Call it "where am I going, what am I doing and when can I sit down to my next beer?" music. Boxer, the baited-breath follow-up, stays within this thematic course, touching on loss, confusion and the sense of isolation that comes along with growing older in a city that remains forever young.

What happens when two hotly tipped Brooklyn bands come together? Aside from touring the country, sometimes a heated soccer match. In a recent and quickly organized test of athletic ability on a wet field in Oregon, The National defeated Clap Your Hands Say Yeah by a score of 7-5. The National's drummer/goalie Bryan Devendorf (nicknamed "the wall of silence") was declared MVP of the game.