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Re: The National
Posted: Sun September 17, 2023 3:29 pm
by dad
Chris_H_2 wrote:dad wrote:Chris_H_2 wrote:I like it!
more than FTPOF or are they the same?
It may be recency bias, but I’m convinced I do. Definitely a different feel.
I’m looking forward to listening.
As I post this we’re looking at tix to see them in Houston in November.
Re: The National
Posted: Sun September 17, 2023 4:04 pm
by dad
dad wrote:Chris_H_2 wrote:dad wrote:Chris_H_2 wrote:I like it!
more than FTPOF or are they the same?
It may be recency bias, but I’m convinced I do. Definitely a different feel.
I’m looking forward to listening.
As I post this we’re looking at tix to see them in Houston in November.
it's happening. stoked for a brief weekend in Houston.
Re: The National
Posted: Mon September 18, 2023 11:25 am
by oasisfan35
1 Alphabet City (03:43)
2 Deep End (Paul’s in Pieces) (04:29)
3 Weird Goodbyes feat Bon Iver (05:03)
4 Turn off the House (04:35)
5 Dreaming (03:46)
6 Laugh Track feat Phoebe Bridgers (04:24)
7 Space Invader (06:58)
8 Hornets (04:35)
9 Coat on a Hook (04:58)
10 Tour Manager (04:26)
11 Crumble feat Rosanne Cash (04:35)
12 Smoke Detector (07:47)
I find it an odd choice that knowing the collection was going to be released, the
Alphabet City and
Space Invader singles weren't treated as such; guess that went to the surprise of it all.
The National wrote:Laugh Track is the band's most freewheeling, all-hands-on-deck album in years. If Frankenstein represented a rebuilding of trust between group members after 20+ years together, the vibrant, exploratory Laugh Track is both the product of that faith and a new statement of intent. Revelling in the license to radically upend its creative process, The National honed most of this material in live performances on tour this year, and captured those invigorated versions in impromptu sessions at producer Tucker Martine’s Portland studio, Flora Recording & Playback. The nearly eight-minute album closer 'Smoke Detector' was recorded in June during a Vancouver soundcheck, completing a body of work bristling with spontaneity and vintage rock energy that makes a perfect complement to the songs found on its more introspective predecessor.
Re: The National
Posted: Mon September 18, 2023 12:28 pm
by Chris_H_2
It’s no Amnesiac, that’s for sure.
So I’ve had time to really listen to it. Sadly, the it hasn’t aged well.
The best way for me to describe it is, yes, it’s the National playing and singing; it’s just there.
Re: The National
Posted: Mon September 18, 2023 12:32 pm
by dad
yikes.
going to try to get to it at some point, but yikes.
Re: The National
Posted: Mon September 18, 2023 12:43 pm
by dad
they just added more dates, one of which is Tulsa on 11/16. i just bought tix to Houston (11/18) last night. I might end up getting tix for Tulsa too. I can't justify not going when they're going to be 90 mins away. I'll likely hate myself Friday morning though.
Re: The National
Posted: Mon September 18, 2023 1:17 pm
by digster
This was really good and a nice surprise; Space Invader's probably the best song on here, but Deep End, Turn Off The House and the trio at the end are all highlights (this is probably my favorite 3-run of ending songs they've done since Trouble Will Find Me).
Re: The National
Posted: Mon September 18, 2023 1:25 pm
by Chris_H_2
Smoke Detector is so good. More of that please.
Re: The National
Posted: Mon September 18, 2023 1:28 pm
by Chris_H_2
By the way, the pitchfork review is pretty spot on. And this part about Bryan Devendorf essentially be persona non grata on the last album is great:
pitchfork wrote:His fidgety, racing percussion introduces intrigue to the otherwise staid “Turn Off the House,” and he propels “Space Invader” toward the kind of cathartic outro this band used to throw down all the time but now reserves only for the rare nights when the sitters are free and nobody has work the next morning.
Re: The National
Posted: Mon September 18, 2023 1:38 pm
by digster
You can really feel him straining for a good line there, as (at least in the studio) they've never really done anything like Space Invader's outro (other than maybe So Far So Fast, which doesn't feel like that apt a comparison).
Re: The National
Posted: Mon September 18, 2023 1:48 pm
by Chris_H_2
digster wrote:You can really feel him straining for a good line there, as (at least in the studio) they've never really done anything like Space Invader's outro (other than maybe So Far So Fast, which doesn't feel like that apt a comparison).
At that happens to be my favorite track on that album.
Re: The National
Posted: Mon September 18, 2023 3:37 pm
by Chris_H_2
space invader
smoke detector
alphabet city (holy crap does this suffer from being no. 1 in the track list)
turn off the house
coat on a hook
dreaming
deep end
crumble
weird goodbyes
tour manager
hornets
laugh track (for the second album in a row, this phoebe bridgers song is the weakest)
Re: The National
Posted: Tue September 19, 2023 12:47 pm
by psychobain
Chris_H_2 wrote:space invader
smoke detector
alphabet city
yes
Re: The National
Posted: Tue September 19, 2023 1:01 pm
by dad
smoke detector is legit the best thing they've done since TWFM.
Re: The National
Posted: Tue September 19, 2023 1:12 pm
by psychobain
Chris_H_2 wrote:laugh track (for the second album in a row, this phoebe bridgers song is the weakest)
im not a fan of this track, but i really liked THIS ISNT HELPING
alcott was prob my least fav
Re: The National
Posted: Tue September 19, 2023 1:52 pm
by VinylGuy
listening to it right now, nice to see weird goodbyes here
Re: The National
Posted: Tue September 19, 2023 2:15 pm
by VinylGuy
Space Invader is awesome
Re: The National
Posted: Tue September 19, 2023 2:20 pm
by Chris_H_2
the more i listen to this, the more i'm convinced that this album would be so much better with a different track listing. something like this:
deep end
smoke detector
alphabet city
turn off the house
coat on a hook
weird goodbyes
tour manager
laugh track
crumble
hornets
dreaming
space invader
Re: The National
Posted: Tue September 19, 2023 2:48 pm
by VinylGuy
Its been a while since these guys got a full album of instant grabbers for me really. They really need to try to rock out more i guess.
Re: The National
Posted: Tue September 19, 2023 3:13 pm
by digster
Turn off the House is a pretty crushing highlight; I've never heard somebody be able to evoke how a relationship ending can numb you in the way Berninger is able to do.
Space Invader
Turn off the House
Crumble
Smoke Detector
Tour Manager
Weird Goodbyes
Deep End
Hornets
Alphabet City
Dreaming
Laugh Track
Coat on a Hook
This review I thought figured out what works about the album well (and the few things hamstringing it, which are mainly production-related):
http://www.stereogum.com/2236287/the-na ... valuation/