The National- Boxer
August 22, 2007
The National
Boxer
May 22nd 2007
Beggars Banquet Records
For those of you who know this Brooklyn based quintet, you will find Boxer a graceful progression. I won’t spend much time revisiting their previous records except to say that each release improves on the last. Boxer is a record focused on instrumentation. It leaves behind some of the more guitar driven tracks of Alligator, emphasizing the organic blending of violins, violas, trumpets, and bassoons. This results in a disc with a lot of tonal layers and complexity.
Where guitars do appear, they are beautifully washed out and are rarely straightforward. The most upfront vintage aspect to this band is the post-punk drum beat that drives the instrumental layers, as if Joy Division drummer Stephen Morris formed an orchestral side project. Matt Berninger’s deep vocals are relaxed and seem to swagger through the record. I dare say there are definite influences of Cash and Waits that permeate Berninger’s vocal qualities. The words are often non sequiturs, yet they are lyrical, thoughtful and pretty.
Once Boxer is had, so have you must the rest. The disc’s first track Fake Empire is a perfect introduction to the band. Its crescendo of syncopated trumpet sounds kills me every time I hear them. Slow Show is laden with accordion and organ backgrounds that then break into an anthemic-love-ballad-repetition taken from the lyrics of 29 off their debut self-titled album. At times Boxer is vaguely reminiscent of a Sufjan Stevens record. It does not borrow from the Stevens’ style, rather the sound seems related (Sufjan Stevens contributes in piano on Racing like a Pro). Boxer is an exceptional album consistent in its organic feel and pleasantly dim mood.
http://www.myspace.com/thenational
http://www.americanmary.com
Other Albums
The National (2001)
Sad Songs for Dirty Lover (2003)
Cherry Tree EP (2004)
Alligator (2005)
Related Sounds
Johnny Cash
Tom Waits
Interpol
Joy Division
Arab Strap
Sufjan Stevens
