The National - Boxer
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Free Music Notes for Boxer
Free Music Review: The unmagnificent lives of adults...
Hit: 5 Stars
Patience is a virtue when listening to Boxer, the exquisite new album by outstanding Brooklyn-based artists The National. Anyone familiar with their last album, Alligator, might be surprised by its lack of what the Onion referred to as "controlled-detonation rockers." What it does have is excellent tunes, tight musicianship, strange, witty lyrics and the incomparably gorgeous voice of Matt Berninger. Every listening reveals more subtle touches that add up to what I consider the album of the year (in a year with many, many outstanding albums.) It's also an album that deserves to be listened to as a whole every time, as the sequencing of the songs is perfectly done. Standout tunes for me are the lovely, romantic "Apartment Story," the '80s-sounding (in the best possible way) "Brainy," album opener "Fake Empire..." If I go on, I'll have listed every track on the album. I can't stop playing it. It's that good. Buy it now. Free Music Review: Another beautiful slow burner, and my how it scorches
Hit: 5 Stars
When did rock music get so beautiful again? Yeah, It had something to do with folks getting sick of garage rock (White Stripes aside) and critics never forgetting the heartbroken punk of Joy Division. But it also came from the alt country invasion of the 1990s, the dawning of Wilco World and the success of such over-played buggers as U2 and Coldplay.
But really, the fusion of rock and, gosh darn it, gorgeousness, has gotten pretty pervasive of late, with dudes like Andrew Bird and groups like our dear, overhyped Arcade Fire. But I'd argue that the masters of the Rock Can Be Pretty Without Being Awful movement are Brooklyn outsiders the National. If you like moody, wry rock, I dare you not to fall in love with this record. It trumps Wilco, and it makes Interpol look chilly and terribly detached from the real world.
I came to The National's game, like so many people, with 2004's "Alligator". (Buy it now, really.)
And I love these guys when they rock, like they do on that album, and which they don't do that much of here. But the Nats do show perhaps a stronger, trickier skill on "Boxer:" the ability to musically experiment without coming off like a band at war (hi Jeff Tweedy!), the ability to fuse rock and folk without sounding like wusses, the jujitsu to channel a mournful-yet-upbeat sound that somehow brings to mind a 30something everyman. (In songs like the stalkerish "Brainy," you're unsure if you should hug lead singer Matt Berninger or issue a restraining order against him.)
"Mistaken for Strangers" is "Boxer"'s showiest number. A jangly, dual guitar-driven anthem about being out of touch with your peeps, it manages to be both danceable and a bit depressing, which is part of the band's appeal.
But not surpisingly, it's the slower numbers on this CD that wedge themselves in your brain. Take "Ada," a dark, hypnotic trope about a demanding woman, or "Slow Show,' a song of wished-for domestic tranquilty that'd make anyone want to hurry home to Berninger. Drums spiral in and out of time signatures, Berningers sleepy-yet-sexy baritone slings ironic lyrics of relationships gone wrong and right, and all seems both right and terribly sad with the world.
Free Music Review: Amazing CD from best art rock band in America
Hit: 5 Stars
I say 'art rock' but The National really defies definition. This CD harkens back to 'Cherry Tree' with its thoughtful pace and lush sound. While Alligator was kind of jarring in its changes from fast to slow Boxer builds in momentum and seriousness. 'Mistaken For Strangers' could be a late Smiths/early Morrissey song with its minor chords and lilting rhythums. Also like the Smiths Boxer feels more like Matt Berninger's voice is blending into the music rather than the music filling in under him like in previous CDs. I encourage everyone to see The National live as they put on a great show and the true brilliance of the arrangements comes out on stage. The incredibly overrated Surfjin Stevens plays on the CD and The National is often compared to Arcade Fire. Two acts that sell alot more records. Why??? There is no comparison!Free Music Review: Boxing Onward
Hit: 4 Stars
There have been a lot of unnecessarily complicated accounts of how The National have evolved as a band from their first album to this one.
Put quite simply, it's been a movement from alt-country (think experimental like Wilco) to alt-country mixed with influences like Joy Division/New Order.
To begin with the alt-country was top heavy but then songs like Murder Me Rachel and Abel showed the Joy Division/New Order influences coming through. In Alligator this strange mix of genres was at times a little jarring.
Now, in Boxer, they've come together more successfully and less strenuously. Songs like Fake Empire, Mistaken for Strangers, Brainy, Squalor Victoria, Apartment Story, even Guest Room have those Joy Division tendencies, with some experimentation and embellishments. The rest--Green Gloves, Slow Show, Start A War, Racing Like a Pro, Ada, Gospel--are basically alt-country, again with some experimentation and embellishments. My favorite Joy Division-ish numbers are probably Fake Empire and Squalor Victoria (the latter sounding almost Kinks-ish in composition, the former having a neat horns section at the end), and my favorite alt-country numbers are probably Slow Show with its piano break, and either the understated Starting A War or Racing Like A Pro. For my liking, though, Apartment Story seems like too much of a Joy Division clone and Gospel is just plain boring in conception.
The National, overall, are a vital group to watch as they hone these two very different styles and try to create different interpretations with them.
Free Music Review: Beautiful and haunting...
Hit: 5 Stars
After Alligator, one of my favorite records of 2005, I had high hopes for Boxer. Upon first listen, my first thoughts centered around the fact that the record is much lower key than Alligator with a bit of disappointment in the lack of a real 'shouter' like Abel... after a few more listens, I accepted that Boxer is different than Alligator with its lush instrumentation and added instrumentation (horns, piano).... a few more listens, I was thoroughly convinced that Boxer is better record than Alligator. Cryptic lyrics via Matt's baritone are still there and Bryan's drumming is as present as ever, but with an added musical complexity and orchastration fitting for such fantastic musicians. A brilliant record. Try the tracks 'Fake Empire', 'Brainy', 'Slow Show' and 'Racing Like A Pro'... and seek out b-side 'Santa Clara' too...