The National: Sunshine on My B&Ck

[LemonMelon]

Really enjoyed tonight's show.

First, the bad:

-Matt's voice was totally shot and he didn't do any stage diving or anything. He screamed like a crazy person and hit his head with the mic a lot, so I guess that's something. We only go to these shows to watch Matt act like a crazy person, right? No?

-The setlist was disappointing, but that's on the Hollywood Bowl's curfew and cavalcade of opening acts. No surprises of any kind, but it was nice to hear Pink Rabbits since I missed the TWFM tour altogether (I would have preferred This Is The Last Time though).

The good:

-OH MY GOD THAT VERSION OF TERRIBLE LOVE HOLY SHIT I CAN'T EVEN DESCRIBE HOW GOOD IT WAS

-Day I Die needs to never leave the set. At least not for a long time. I don't care what you think about the studio version, it's so, so damn good live.

-I feel like Bryce had way more to do at this show than he did on the High Violet tour. He was shredding all over the place.

-As I said before, I missed the TWFM tour, so Don't Swallow the Cap being THAT good live was cool to hear. Not surprised they kept it around.

-They played I'll Still Destroy You in place of Empire Line, and I will take that tradeoff. The outro is a standout live moment, just as it's a standout studio moment.

-Walk It Back builds to something interesting and post-rock influenced live. Not really a fan of the studio take, but they have some good stuff going on with this version. I doubt it will last beyond this tour, so hear it while you can.

-Afraid of Everyone now has an outro with a thumping dance rhythm that I don't remember being present in 2010. I like it a lot.

-Nobody Else Will Be There and The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness have cemented themselves as all-time favorites. I am obsessed with those songs and they sounded good tonight.

-Fake Empire and About Today belong together. Such a good way to close out the main set.

I went to this show to hear their awesome new album and a handful of TWFM tracks that I missed from the last tour and I got all of that. No significant complaints. Part of me feels only a few tracks from Sleep Well Beast will make it to the next tour, it's a very difficult album to pull off in larger venues, but The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness and Day I Day seem like they could be live classics.

 

[cobl04]

I love the setlists they're playing. I'm going to two shows with my partner, so as long as I get Vanderlyle and This is the Last Time once each, I'll be pretty fucking happy. All the Wine would be a special treat.

 

[Joey788]

Ada is one of the songs of theirs left on my bucket list, along with Karen.

 

[cobl04]

They opened with Karen tonight! After opening with City Middle the other night.

Hilarious new video, this time for I'll Still Destroy You.



The album has grown on me a lot, which I'm not surprised about. Just took some time.

 

[cobl04]

That song in particular I'm really starting to dig. I love the lyrics, which seem to talk about vices like medication and alcohol, and also the desire to keep that 'upper' feeling going forever, which the video reflects (and probably opened my eyes to). The chorus has this lovely, uplifting, sun-bitten, drunken hazy quality to it. Holding onto the dying moments of a great night before it all comes crashing down, which is then reflected in the outro.

 

[intedomine]

I love I'll Still Destroy You. It took a while to really get going with me as well.

I'm finding myself losing engagement at Carin and Dark Side of the Gym - my mind tends to drift away from listening to those two songs. Not sure why, but it annoys me.

 

[Kieran McConville]

I think the album could easily lose Guilty Party, and that maybe its presence accounts for that last-part-of-the-album drift (which I felt too to begin with).

It's grown on me substantially overall, and I think the clincher for me with Dark Side of The Gym in particular was that orchestral thing that worms its way into the last minute or so. It's becoming one of my favourites on the record. Along with Walk It Back.

 

[cobl04]

Nah, Guilty Party is absolutely top-notch. I've also come to really dig Turtleneck. I was putting too much stock in it before, great for what it is. My ratings are fluctuating every day, I can't bed them down at all haha.

It's a bit like AMSP... not that accessible, takes time for its pleasures to unfurl themselves.

 

[Kieran McConville]

This one has more cohesion for mine, than Moon Shaped Pooh.

But yes, it's true that both take time to unfurl. In the National's case, stopping fretting overly about the lyrics is helping (by which I mean actually hearing/not-hearing them, in quite many cases; hearing what are the words he's saying on a line by line basis). Let's roll.

As for Guilty Party, it's alright, but nearly alone of the tracks here, it does feel a bit National-By-Numbers. Could have stuck it in the back end of something five years ago. But they're trying - relatively successfully - to loosen up the sound and vibe a bit on this particular record.

 

[Kieran McConville]

On the other hand, I've gotten to really love the equally-traditionalist Carin At The Liquor Store, so take my words as early impressions.

I'm walking around like I was the one who found dead John Cheever
in the house of love

It's a bit of a late-album slowdance, puts me in mind of Pink Rabbits in that way, a little.

 

[gump]

You people stay away from Guilty Party. That buildup and outro are perfect, and it may well be my favorite song in the album.

 

[iron yuppie]

Love the John Cheever line, possibly my favorite on the album.

And Cobbler, I think the Moon Shaped Pool analogy is especially apt.

 

[iron yuppie]

Also the cheapest tickets for their Chicago shows are nearly $200 - steep. I'm guessing they will be back on a victory lap at some point, though.

 

[PhilsFan]

Cheapest tickets for the Philly show are currently $350.

 

[Kieran McConville]

.

 

[nielsgov]

They started off their gig in Brussels by playing Boxer in its entirety for its 10th anniversary.

I'm actually not too fussed I wasn't there as I'm not the biggest fan of Boxer. I wouldn't mind seeing Brainy live though.

 

[cobl04]

How come you didn't go?

It's pretty cool, but I'm with you. I've heard six National albums and it's my least favourite. I love half the tracks - Fake Empire, Mistaken for Strangers, Brainy, Squalor Victoria, Slow Show and Apartment Story -
but a lot of the rest doesn't do much for me. Like it, just not all that.

 

[nielsgov]

I don't know really. When it was first announced, I didn't feel like going as I've seen them quite a few times the last few years. After the release of Sleep Well Beast I almost changed my mind as I love that album but in the end the timing wasn't ideal either.

I'm making up for that this week by going to QOTSA and Fleet Foxes on consecutive days though.

 

[LemonMelon]

Boxer is their best album and Niels fucked up.

 

[nielsgov]

I can agree on the second part.

I think I have mentioned recently that Boxer is slowly going up in my rankings. A few years ago I probably would have rated it last in their discography, not taking the debut into account of course (which I haven't heard). Now I'd certainly rank it above High Violet and Sad Songs. And it would be difficult for me to order Trouble will Find Me, Boxer and Sleep Well Beast. Alligator will always be my number one though. It's a top ten of all time for me.

 

[cobl04]

I'd like Alligator more if it had a different tracklisting. I've found the one it does have all over the place and it fucks with my enjoyment of it. Still love it, but the track order's out of whack.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Got to agree that Alligator is a bit of a slog. I admire it plenty, but I think I once compared it to a very looooooooong donkey with a swayback in the middle. It starts great and finishes great; and of course it goes without saying that none of it is close to poor (although Looking For Astronauts could put me to sleep).

 

[iron yuppie]

Boxer is their best album and Niels fucked up.

Boxer is great, though I'm not sure where it would fall in my rankings. I listened to it a few times over the last few weeks and was continually reminded of how it feels to have your horizons narrow as you age. It captures that feeling very well.

Got to agree that Alligator is a bit of a slog.

Can't agree with this. The more brooding numbers are always offset by something fierce. The pacing is excellent IMO.

 

[Joey788]

Boxer is still my number 1 National album, with Trouble Will Find Me and Sleep Well Beast tied for second.

I still love High Violet but it’s dropped a bit in my rankings. Runaway is an absolute slog and Sorrow, Anyone’s Ghost and Little Faith are just okay. I really like to love the rest though.

 

[cobl04]

I was SO wrong about Sleep Well Beast.

 

[cobl04]

Revised rankings:

Nobody Else Will Be There - 10
Day I Die - 8
Walk it Back - 6
System Only Dreams in Total Darkness - 10
Born to Beg - 5
Turtleneck - 7
Empire Line - 7
I'll Still Destroy You (this one I was a mile off) - 9
Guilty Party - 8
Carin at the Liquor Store - 8
Dark Side of the Gym - 8
Sleep Well Beast - 10

 

[corianderstem]

I haven't listened to the new album since it came out. I'm seeing them on the 29th, so guess I'd better rectify that.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Walk It Back has got to be one of the standouts for me. Indeed it was my entry point for getting past my initial... confusion isn't the right word, as I'd hoped they'd go somewhere like this with the music, but my initial relative indifference.

 

[LemonMelon]

I don't hear a memorable melody anywhere in Walk It Back, but I really like what they're going for with it.

It's better live too. There's an interesting instrumental tangent they go on during the outro.

 

[Kieran McConville]

The memorable melody - for me anyhow - is that repeated, climbing, yearning guitar line, I can't render it on the page, but it recurs over and over, and it's what drives the song.