Friday, July 8, 2011

Melancholy Indie Update: The National

I've been listening to The National a lot lately.  They're a Brooklyn-based indie rock band and you absolutely have to check them out.  The band is composed of baritone singer Matt Beringer, brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner (guitars), and brothers Scott and Brian Devendorf (drums and bass).  Padma Newsome from The Clogs adds strings, keys and that satisfying finishing touch that so many of The National's flawless compositions provide.


This a a great link to some of The National's best tracks.  I'm a huge fan of "Wasp's Nest," "About Today," and "Mistaken for Strangers."

I found this recent interview with the Dessner brothers really interesting.  I'm not surprised to hear that the band members have found themselves engaged in a "near relationship-ending" constant artistic battle between themselves and Matt every time they've recorded an album.  The National is unique in that the brothers compose the music and Matt writes all of the lyrics and sings, as opposed to the musicians writing the lyrics and having a lead singer sing them.  I can't imagine how difficult and frustrating this must be at times.  Matt sings of love, sorrow, regret, relationships, the complexities of the emotional human experience.  At times the sadness can be overwhelming, but that's the point.  The National also makes noteworthy political commentary in tracks like "Fake Empire" off their 2007 album Boxer.  Boxer is their fourth and best album.  Their fifth album, High Violet, released in 2010, is really starting to grow on me.