The National | Trouble Will Find Me

[Harry Lime]

It´s monumental, unlike the studio version.

i listened to that session when it aired live... loved the song, still love it. i actually prefer studio versions being a bit more refined, it makes them even that much better live. would you rather have a studio version that is so raw/heavy/crazy that the live version pales in comparison and could never live up to?

Heck, even Abel sounds downright puny now on album compared to the live versions, but it certainly didn't the first time i heard it in 2005 . He doesn't go off that much on the studio take of Mr. November either compared in concert.

I love the way they transform their music when they play live, but I just get a little frustrated with that kind of things. I want them to explode in the album too.

Well, I hope I didn't ruin the album version for myself because I find this live
BBc version to be fantastic.

[Bob Loblaw]

Ugh. Won't be able to listen until Sunday.

[solace]

I'm not listening to this until it comes out, but I'm curious for those that have heard it: how does it compare to Hight Violet the first couple of times you listened to that album?

way better than High Violet for me. I dug that one from the get go, but it still had to grow on me quite a bit.

[given2trade]

i like it. it's different than HV and i don't think these songs will play live as well as previous albums.

[Gods' Die]

I thought their run of Alligator-Boxer-High Violet was pretty impressive. They're not a grab-you-immediately type of band to me (definitely not necessarily a band thing, it has its pluses and negatives).

At first I thought they were dull/uninspired. Then hooks and lyrics started sinking in, and now I like them quite a bit.

For this record I was hoping for a couple songs with a little more tempo, but from what I'm reading I don't think I'll get it. But hopefully I still like it, cuz I love HV a couple years after its release. Definitely seeing them at Red Rocks.

[j's brain]

This album is very good.

[psychobain]

How is the album? I'm still looping the first track since the leak!

[zeb]

[psychobain]

5 or 6 fantastic tracks...great album overall....

9.3/10.0

[Bob Loblaw]

Not feeling it that much after one listen, but it feels like the kind of album that would grow on you.

[solace]

I thought their run of Alligator-Boxer-High Violet was pretty impressive. They're not a grab-you-immediately type of band to me (definitely not necessarily a band thing, it has its pluses and negatives).

At first I thought they were dull/uninspired. Then hooks and lyrics started sinking in, and now I like them quite a bit.

For this record I was hoping for a couple songs with a little more tempo, but from what I'm reading I don't think I'll get it. But hopefully I still like it, cuz I love HV a couple years after its release. Definitely seeing them at Red Rocks.

it's actually more uptempo on the whole than HV

[Bob Loblaw]

Some of these lyrics are chafing me. They're just bad.

[j's brain]

Some of these lyrics are chafing me. They're just bad.

I disagree. Most of what they write about really connects with me for some reason and this new album appears to be no different - even the somewhat abstract lyrics.

Fireproof and Pink Rabbits are the only songs on the album that I'm not instantly in love with. I can't believe that they may have made something better than High Violet and continued the streak of the newest album being the best album (at least for me).

[Gods' Die]

Some of these lyrics are chafing me. They're just bad.

I disagree. Most of what they write about really connects with me for some reason and this new album appears to be no different - even the somewhat abstract lyrics.

Fireproof and Pink Rabbits are the only songs on the album that I'm not instantly in love with. I can't believe that they may have made something better than High Violet and continued the streak of the newest album being the best album (at least for me).

That's definitely good news...HV is their favorite of mine thus far. And I like the news that it's slightly more uptempo than said album as well. I have pretty high hopes.

[diesel]

most of you seem to love this album so far, but i'm not sure that i can agree, at least right now. i've listened to this twice completely and it will be on for car rides commuting to and from work, so its still very new to me and hasn't completely sunk in yet.

some notes:
- some of the lyrics are abstract and dont connect / mean something to me as most of their other work did. this is not a bad thing per say, but different for them.
- the instruments on this album hide behind each other. at times i hear synth, strings, guitar behind guitar, drums, etc, like any other national album, but instead of being next to each other on the sound stage they seem to step on each other, while the vocals are constantly in front.
- there's not as much tension and release / crescendo on this album compare to other songs in the past.
- matt's voice seems softer and not as rumbling as it used to be. not a bad / good thing, just an observation.

overall, i can't put this album ahead of any of their past three. I think it's a distinctive national album. As they've said in interviews, they're comfortable now. but maybe they're too comfortable and not deliberating over the songwriting / producing / lyric writing as once before?

[given2trade]

i agree w/ last post

[oasisfan35]

most of you seem to love this album so far, but i'm not sure that i can agree, at least right now. i've listened to this twice completely and it will be on for car rides commuting to and from work, so its still very new to me and hasn't completely sunk in yet.

some notes:
- some of the lyrics are abstract and dont connect / mean something to me as most of their other work did. this is not a bad thing per say, but different for them.
- the instruments on this album hide behind each other. at times i hear synth, strings, guitar behind guitar, drums, etc, like any other national album, but instead of being next to each other on the sound stage they seem to step on each other, while the vocals are constantly in front.
- there's not as much tension and release / crescendo on this album compare to other songs in the past.
- matt's voice seems softer and not as rumbling as it used to be. not a bad / good thing, just an observation.

overall, i can't put this album ahead of any of their past three. I think it's a distinctive national album. As they've said in interviews, they're comfortable now. but maybe they're too comfortable and not deliberating over the songwriting / producing / lyric writing as once before?

RE: notes:

* Got that also, to a degree but a few more spins opened most if not all the lyrics and most of these moments fit.
* The mix, from an MP3 leak realm, is not particularly good. This may change with the dynamic of a lossless copy or the vinyl but one currently really has to stretch to hear the instrument and many moments (early on) feel cluttered... to me.
* This album is far more subtle and I'd say delicate than the others but is similar to their direction of one-offs released since HV.
* He's definitely restrained. It works for the album as a whole and may very-well work as a juxtaposition for live performances, or he'll let loose and the band will pick-up right along... all fair game now.

I don't rate albums but this one is resonating with me faster than HV... I do want the connection but it works supremely well.

[solace]

re: Matt's lyrics... they've always been pretty abstract. he's not so much of a storyteller as he is about wordplay and fragments.

i think his voice sounds better than he ever has personally... first two albums he hadn't really learned how to sing, and even on some tunes on Alligator he sorta struggled. i couldn't imagine him singing anything like 'I Should Live In Salt' or 'Slipped' prior to Boxer. his baritone sounds almost deeper too at times.

as for the "leak", it's a 100% legit 320kbps promo, so not sure the final thing will sound THAT different, unless you have a $10k+ stereo.

absolutely in love with it after almost a week now and can't WAIT for my shows in June (and possibly next week)

[i got bugs]

i understand he has that dull monotone voice.. n it worked on some tracks on that last one.. but this one kinda bores the shit outta me.. some songs are ok at best, maybe i just need to give it more spins.. i dunno if i have any desire to tho

[solace]

that's too bad.

It's a fabulous album.