After Aaron Dessner’s sterling collaborative role on Taylor Swift’s utterly sublime folklore, my interest in The National has been piqued. I’m start from a position of basically not knowing anything of theirs, so can any discerning Afterworders guide me towards what to snog/marry/avoid, so to speak?
ATM: The National
by 15 Comments
I would say High Violet is the place to start, their most consistent album. The Boxer and Trouble Will Find Me next. Then work forwards and backwards. They’ve not made a bad album yet.
Ditto,
High Violet is probably the best place to start, but they are all good.
Dunno if it’s available still anywhere but their Glastonbury show ( on the telly) from a year or three (four?) ago pretty much turned me , and I suddenly found I was buying all their stuff.
In typical “I prefer the earlier stuff” pose, a big shout out for the brilliant Alligator. Boxer very good too, and High Violet. What they have done since then has left me a little cold, though that might be just the indie snob in me as they got successful.
Alligator is still my favourite, too. The run of Alligator-Boxer-High Violet is brilliant.
Boxer shades it for me. But Mr November is an absolute belter of a song.
All the above. Boxer. Alligator. High Violet. Then have a bit of a rummage around. I haven’t listened to them in a while so that’s this afternoon sorted out nicely.
They are one of those bands that never make my best of lists or come to mind when people say ‘what are you listening to?’ but I play them quite a lot. Whilst I would probably agree about High Violet I really like the last one I Am Easy To Find , in particular the voice of Gail Ann Dorsey who adds some light to Matt Berningers shade.
All of the female voices on that album are great, but yeah, when the single was released it was a real shift to hear the female vocal take over [You Had Your Soul With You]
Along with Gail Ann Dorsey (1–3, 6, 10, 13), there’s
* Eve Owen (2, 9)
* Diane Sorel (2)
* Mina Tindle (4)
* Lisa Hannigan (5, 10, 11, 13)
* Sharon Van Etten (5)
* Kate Stables (7, 10, 14)
* Brooklyn Youth Chorus (8, 12, 15)
I had to pinch all that from Wikipedia
On a more general note, I find all of their albums to take a while to burrow into my skull. The songs can sound a bit flat and samey at first.
I have Alligator and Boxer but I’ve never really ‘got’ The National, except for the time they were on the telly (probably Later with Jools Holland).
I do love, though, Portsmouth’s The Dawn Chorus who people tell me sound like The National, although I can’t see it myself. The Magpie usually have their first two albums, ‘The Big Adventure’ and ‘The Carnival Leaves Town’, for a couple of quid.
Manchester’s The Slow Show are another National-like act worth investigating, although their early EPs and first album are by far their best.
@fentonsteve – with you on this – I have High Violet, The Boxer and Trouble will find me and to be honest none really grab me in the way I would expect given the high praise sent their way from almost all quarters.
However they were heavily involved in the Dark Was the Night Red Hot compilation which is one of the best compilations around.
I started with Boxer. Hopped back to Alligator and some early releases and then did the albums (obviously) when they were released. Each album progresses although I have found they take a few listens to get under your skin properly.
Boxer is a great place to start.
Aaron Dessner did an absolutely superb job creating and producing the “Day of the Dead” project (2016). It’s a 5CD set featuring 59 covers of Grateful Dead songs by artists such as Angel Olsen, Bonnie Prince Billy, Lucinda Williams, Béla Fleck, Bill Callahan, Jenny Lewis, Kurt Vile, Wilco, Orchastra Baobab, The Flaming Lips and of course the National themselves. The release was in aid of the Red Hot Organization, an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS. It’s a terrific set, and even some Grateful Dead-sceptics might find they enjoy parts of it.
@duco01 completely forgot about that – will get it out and give it a spin as I recall some really good stuff on there.
Thanks, chaps…will now conduct an informed investigation.