The interNational Treasure

I don't quite believe what's going on in the world. The National's new album, High Violet, reached number 3 on Billboard 200. I love America, its attitude of working hard and believing in american dream. But I can't say their musical tastes match mine. I'm not into shallow pop or R'n'B. Or rap. These genres pretty much dominate on US charts. And now I look on the Wikipedia reading some facts about the newest The National offering. Well, if you don't know the band, I tell you: it's not R'n'B. It's not even a bit poppy. It's sad music, it's lazy music, it's profound music. It is melodic music. It's independent music, alternative. And what do I find? Number 3 in the US, number 5 in the UK. Right, UK is far more "rocky", but US? Well, I'm shocked but full of hope that good music, that album oriented music can still have a touch with millions. But what really made American's buy this obscure band?

The National - High Violet

Well, I don't know. They're not cool, they're not even something new. Matt Berninger, deep baritone singer is 42 now, the rest of the band, combining of two pairs of brothers only tad younger. After the critical acclaim they got after releasing their two prevous albums, Alligator and Boxer they were supposed to come successful. But successful in alternative terms - huge fanbase, some top 40 album. But top 3, really? OK, it's pointless, I could go like this forever so I just place here the picture of the drummer of the band, maybe he's the reason for this unusual popularity?

Lennon guy, beat the beatles, huh? Ok, what about the actual music? I loved Boxer, I got to know the band through Fake Empire and Slow Show off that album. These two songs hit me so hard that till this day they deserve their 5-star rating on my iPod, and that's really something. Boxer is highly melodic, I was in awe when I listened to the lines sung by Berninger for the first times. A sad guy like Leonard Cohen sings with melodic talent of Paul McCartney. His melodies are really strong.

And High Violet? It's much more lazy than its prodecessor but these melodies are there. Every song on this LP is needed, every line sung is meaningful and every sound effect is perfectly crafted (not to mention, that some 30 people were featured in the working process, including Sufjan Stevens and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon). The album didn't hit me at first listen, it needed like 3 or 4 times. Now it is on constant replay. What hits me here is the production. From fuzzy guitars of Terrible Love to epic strings of Vanderlyle it is something totally different. I don't know how to explain that but the depth in production is incredible. It sound otherwordly, powerful, fat and muted.

Well, and these drums. Lennon is really someone if it goes to the drums.

Song by song rating:

1. Terrible Love 10/10 (I don't really know what it is about, didn't really listen to the lyrics but the title prolly says it all. Some say that the guitars are too strange, for me they're just imitating the pain of this terrible love, which isn't bad thing)
2. Sorrow 9/10 (Competition for the saddest song of the year officially started!)
3. Anyone's ghost 9/10 (yeap, the drums!)
4. Little Faith 7/10 (I find myself hard to review it track-by-track, because most of the them blend together so good when you listen to the whole album that you don't really know whick one is which. And that really doesn't mean they're fillers)
5. Afraid of Everyone 10/10 (OK, the masterpiece and haunting voice of Sufjan in the background)
6. Bloodbuzz Ohio 10/10 (I don't know! the melody, the drums, the piano? I don't know! But it works)
7. Lemonworld 7/10 (love doo doo doo)
8. Runaway 9/10 (love how it grows from start to finish)
9. Conversation 16 7/10 (more guitar based rock track)
10. England 9/10 (I'm British)
11. Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks 10/10 (wonderful melody and Matt sings here quite high, doesn't he?)

Total: 101/110 -> 9/10

All great, but the again can you tell me, how such a sad and so to say artsy album reached Top 3? Not that I'm not happy about it =)