The members of indie−rock band The National can't agree on anything. For its upcoming fifth album — "High Violet," due out May 11 — the band did more than 80 takes on one song alone. But this attention to detail and obsession with finding the perfect sound makes "High Violet" a reverberating masterpiece.
The National formed in 1999 in Brooklyn, N.Y. Lead singer Matt Berninger and bassist Scott Devendorf began to make songs on a small eight−track recording console. In need of a drummer, they called Scott's brother, Bryan Devendorf. He then suggested identical twin guitarists Aaron and Bryce Dressner to fill out the band.
The National then released a self−titled debut in 2001 and a follow−up called "Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers" (2003) on its own Brassland Records label. After gaining some critical acclaim for the latter album, The National signed with Beggars Banquet Records for its next two LP's, "Alligator" (2005) and "Boxer" (2007). These two albums saw The National really hit its stride in the studio, earning high praise from the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork Media, New Music Express (NME) and Paste Magazine. The increased exposure led to a tour with Modest Mouse and R.E.M. in 2008.
The National switched to the 4AD label, a Beggars Banquet subsidiary, for the upcoming "High Violet," though the group is once again working with Peter Katis, who produced both "Alligator" and "Boxer."
Although the band originally intended for this newest release to be light and catchy, "High Violet" delivers much of The National's usual melancholia−tinged, reverb−ridden rock. The (literally) twin guitars of the Dressner brothers intertwine in spacious, echoing phrases above an engaging rhythm section. Over it all rumble Berninger's laconic phrases: His weary baritone delivers vaguely insightful sentiments gleaned from three−and−a−half decades of middle−class life in Cincinnati and New York City.
But life in the very middle of the middle−American Dream might be more emotionally taxing than previously expected: "Sorrow found me when I was young/ Sorrow waited, sorrow won/ Sorrow that put me on the pills/ It's in my honey, it's in my milk," Berninger laments on the album's second track, appropriately titled "Sorrow."
Where did the "light" and the "fun" go? Into more than 15 months spent in the recording sessions, behind the mixing board and at the mastering studio. With five different, stubbornly passionate points of view on each song, The National has spared no amount of time or effort in the creation of each track, and it shows on "High Violet." Most tracks feature an elaborate instrumental arrangement, with a veritable parade of woodwinds and brass horns subtly adding to the basic rock template, not to mention choruses of ghostly, atmospheric backing vocals.
But the real hero of The National has to be Bryan Devendorf, whose innovative rhythmic patterns drive the songs in fascinating directions while simultaneously injecting much−needed exuberance. He syncopates a rapid−fire, kick drum and snare pattern that drives the piano−tinged "Bloodbuzz Ohio." But Bryan Devendorf also knows when to fall into the background, and he minimizes his presence on some of the more laid−back tracks, especially the slow, acoustic "Runaway."
Some songs on "High Violet" stun with their careful, shimmering arrangements, but others take a more lo−fi approach, as on "Lemonworld." After doing 80 takes of this song, The National decided that the best version was one of the most basic. By contrast, the introduction to "England" plays like it was arranged, recorded and produced for a particularly anthemic Coldplay song. On the whole, the sounds of "High Violet" bear remarkable similarities not to the Brit−pop band, but to those of fellow New York indie−rock band Interpol. Yet The National produces a more textured, subtle effort than Interpol, and occasionally, if the group really works at it, something a little more upbeat.
