My thoughts after quite a few listens:
This is arguably the most "albumic" record they did. More cohesive and consistent than both Boxer and High Violet, although it lacks the highs of those two song-wise. I'm genuinely surprised at how good the sequencing is on this record, since I always thought this is their main flaw, even in parts of Alligator, which I still consider to be their masterpiece. Slipped is for me the only thing that could be considered a weak link, but even that song is not as dull as Little Faith or a mood killer as Runaway. In fact, it effortlessly flows into I Need My Girl and Humiliation, which is a sign of a great record - as a whole it is greater than the sum of its parts.
The climaxes to Pink Rabbits and This is the Last Time (latter being very Sad Songs-like, which is never a bad thing) already belong in the great National moments. With every listening there is something new to discover and I find myself drawn to some songs that I considered to be lackluster at first - again a sign of a great record. Hard To Find is a classic example. At first I thought of it as a lovely throw-away coda, but it is a beautiful song that actually reminds me a bit of Laughing Stock-era Talk Talk.
As far as lyrics go, most of them are as good as Berninger has always been - both ironic and honestly self-deprecating, emotional and funny. I like that he came back to the narrative lyricism as opposed to the more abstract one of High Violet. The one lyric that does bother me is "Sorry I hurt you but they say love is a virtue", which kind of ruins the middle part of Sea of Love for me, but there are many gems in here that are as good as some of his best on the earlier records. As far as production goes, of course I wish that Graceless and Heavenfaced had as much punch to them as the live versions (screaming being low in the mix is a nasty compromise), and in general I wouldn't mind that the guitars were higher in the mix. However, I love the atmosphere and moodiness that the Dessner brothers brought to many of the tracks. I Need My Girl is a classic example of a song that could have been cheesy as hell, but here it is one of the most atmosphere-laden tracks on the record.
Good stuff. Expectations met. We'll see where it stands after some time passes.
Helter Skelter back and making it even more satanic.
