From the opening moments where Matt Berninger morosely wonders if he should be living in salt for leaving his lover, you know this album is going to tick all the boxes that make this, unmistakably, an album by The National. Another couple of boxes are soon ticked when Jennifer and Jenny are added to the ever-growing list of Berninger’s women-on-pedestals.
To accompany the band’s unmistakable sound, Berninger continues to explore his feelings of alienation, anxiety and displacement. The inward-looking but immediately accessible Demons is a flip-side to the aggressively jubilant Lit Up, with its weary “When I walk into a room, I do not light it up – fuck.” And from the insecure dependency of I Need My Girl and the social faux pas of Humiliation, Trouble Will Find Me reveals a leading man on top form in his own awkward, exposed way.
In contrast to this lack of confidence, the measured vocal delivery and music could not be more effortless and assured. A back-to-basics approach sees the band play to their strengths, as they did on their other exemplary albums, Alligator and Boxer (everyone has their favourite National album, but High Violet didn’t quite hit their high benchmark for me).
While the music is steadfastly The National, there are numerous references to other music in the lyrics. Don’t Swallow The Cap spins Let It Be and Nevermind, two classic albums with titles offering consolation. Later in the album on the lulling Pink Rabbits, Bona Drag is playing and, like Morrissey, the band’s music is comforting and rewarding for the listener, despite its troubled nature. “I am not my rosy self,” Berninger laments, and that’s okay by us.
BY CHRIS GIRDLER
Best Track: Demons
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Boxer THE NATIONAL, The Hungry Saw THE TINDERSTICKS
In A Word: Enduring
