Ahhhh….The National. The band where if you ask a hipster barista at a third wave coffee shop if they have ever heard of it, they’ll laugh in your face and say “You’ve never heard of The National?!?! How can anybody NOT know about The National??”
Yes this actually happened to me at my coffee shop job. Gees, I guess I’m not cool for not having heard of The National. But then again, I’m probably the only New York native who is a barista and doesn’t have a snobby crappy indie rock music taste.
Don’t get me wrong. I like all kinds of music or at least appreciate most of it. (Maybe except that whole EDM robot vomit sound everyone is obsessed with.) But enough about my music taste for now.
So having heard High Violet about three or four times in different situations (and including during writing this review), I will say that the musical content is pretty good. The lyrical content is OK, or maybe perhaps I didn’t understand the lyrics enough. All in all, it’s a pretty good album to say the least. Not my absolute taste but great for solitary walks or on rainy Saturday afternoons.
TERRIBLE LOVE- At first, I’ll admit I didn’t really like this song at all especially as an intro to an album. After a few listens, I started to understand the depth and the emotion the band is trying to express. As a listener, I found the song to be about the anxiety of being in a relationship or perhaps the feeling of entering a new chapter in life such as starting a new family or career. The lyrics, “And I can’t fall asleep without a little help. It takes a while to settle down. My shivered bones. Until the panic sets” indicates the singer’s anxiety and how it takes control of his life. All over the Internet, it seems everyone is obsessed with the line “it takes an ocean not to break”. After a couple of listens, I still can’t figure out exactly what it means but I do know that line made an effect on many listeners. Ultimately, this is a very deep song intended for listeners to listen to the song for its lyrics and not just the melodies and rhythms in the background.
Anyone’s Ghost- If I absolutely had to pick a favorite song in this album, it would be “Anyone’s Ghost”. I liked how this song was more upbeat than the rest of the songs on this album. The lyrics were easy to interpret making it easier to relate to. For me, the song is about a distancing relationship that seems to be losing its connection. It is the type of song you listen to when you get into that big argument with your significant other and don’t speak to each other for a week. That is probably what my concept would be if I were to make a music video of this song. The lyrics aren’t as deep as the other tracks on the album but the message is pretty clear. The music sounds pretty good in this track. Kind of reminds me of Interpol in a way.
Overall, this album isn’t bad at all. Would I have this album on repeat? Probably not until the next time my heart gets torn into a million pieces. What I respect about The National is that they put everything into their music, which makes me appreciate them more. Good music, great deep lyrics. I give this album 4/5. I think any indie rock fan would love this.
meatballsandrubberducks 