Re: The National
Posted: Wed May 03, 2023 12:14 am
I agree with ST on the guest vocalists. Sufjan and Sharon Van Etten come to mind as favs who are there, but Matt gets to shine. I appreciate the more recent guest vocalists who were prominently featured, and I think especially for IAETF, made sense. To be honest, I have a weird hangup about Taylor Swift, and that's on me. I don't hate her. Something about her in a National song doesn't fit. Again, that's on me.
The thought I keep coming back to the more I listen to FTPOF is...yeeessssss, these guys can still make a National record, at least how I view a National record. What I mean by that is I feel like they had such a strong run from Alligator to Trouble...(brooding, self-deprecating, sometimes funny), and then there was...what, a four-year gap for the next album? And that one (SWB) - for me - is not that strong compared to that run of albums that came before, which is...great from start to finish. I mean it. No skips for me. I would even consider putting the two EPs, Cherry Tree, and Virgina in that run too. Maybe.
It's hard for me to think of IAETF as a National album. It's a soundtrack, a companion piece. Some of those songs could work on an actual National album--Rylan, Light Years, I Am Easy to Find.
I also get that all of the guys in this band have families and different priorities, and they've sort of become this parody, which they've fully embraced, and that's cute and all.
There's something beautiful about nostalgia. There's also something dirty and stupid and childish about it. I get nostalgic about those earlier albums because they sound like a group of guys trying to grow and learn and adult. Now they're all of those things (still learning, hopefully), but they're not hungry anymore? I don't know...maybe they're hungry to be good people, or good husbands and fathers.
One of my favorite things about FTPOF is Matt's singing. It's gotten raspy. It's certainly not the same as the nostalgia I adore about this band, but it fits better than the two previous albums as a whole--start to finish. You could definitely pluck good moments from both and some find gems (I'll Still Destroy You, Guilty Party, Quiet Light, Light Years). I don't feel like he's trying to do things out of pocket (Turtleneck) now.
All that to say this is the best thing they've done since TWFM.
Chris_H_2, I do love your choices for openers and closers. Tempted to throw Gospel in there. I've always liked that one. Also, Mr. November. What a way to go out.
I'm happy we have a reason to be talking about this band again.
The thought I keep coming back to the more I listen to FTPOF is...yeeessssss, these guys can still make a National record, at least how I view a National record. What I mean by that is I feel like they had such a strong run from Alligator to Trouble...(brooding, self-deprecating, sometimes funny), and then there was...what, a four-year gap for the next album? And that one (SWB) - for me - is not that strong compared to that run of albums that came before, which is...great from start to finish. I mean it. No skips for me. I would even consider putting the two EPs, Cherry Tree, and Virgina in that run too. Maybe.
It's hard for me to think of IAETF as a National album. It's a soundtrack, a companion piece. Some of those songs could work on an actual National album--Rylan, Light Years, I Am Easy to Find.
I also get that all of the guys in this band have families and different priorities, and they've sort of become this parody, which they've fully embraced, and that's cute and all.
There's something beautiful about nostalgia. There's also something dirty and stupid and childish about it. I get nostalgic about those earlier albums because they sound like a group of guys trying to grow and learn and adult. Now they're all of those things (still learning, hopefully), but they're not hungry anymore? I don't know...maybe they're hungry to be good people, or good husbands and fathers.
One of my favorite things about FTPOF is Matt's singing. It's gotten raspy. It's certainly not the same as the nostalgia I adore about this band, but it fits better than the two previous albums as a whole--start to finish. You could definitely pluck good moments from both and some find gems (I'll Still Destroy You, Guilty Party, Quiet Light, Light Years). I don't feel like he's trying to do things out of pocket (Turtleneck) now.
All that to say this is the best thing they've done since TWFM.
Chris_H_2, I do love your choices for openers and closers. Tempted to throw Gospel in there. I've always liked that one. Also, Mr. November. What a way to go out.
I'm happy we have a reason to be talking about this band again.
