The National

High Violet (4AD)

By Kelley Hecker
Published: May 20th, 2010 | 7:00am

Brooklyn-via-Cincinnati quintet the National create such anthemic rock, it was only a matter of time before they went from playing New York City’s Bowery Ballroom to selling out Radio City Music Hall. In their 12 years together, the National has released five albums—all of them solid and three of them near-perfect—that have produced such soaring hits as “Mr. November” (2005’s Alligator, Beggars Banquet), “Mistaken for Strangers” (2007’s Boxer), and “Bloodbuzz Ohio” (High Violet).

On the latest album, frontman Matt Berninger still crafts dark, anxious lyrics—sung hauntingly in his trademark baritone—that resonate with people, whether they’re an 18-year-old about to head off to college, a 20-something struggling to find her place in this world, or a 30-something married father. For example: “Don’t leave my hyper heart alone on the water / Cover me in rag and bone sympathy,” Berninger sings on “Sorrow,” sounding as if he’s about to break down in tears among a sea of churning guitars. “I still owe money / To the money / To the money I owe / The floors are falling out from everybody I know,” goes the chorus of “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” an ode to the financial concerns of adulthood. “With my kid on my shoulders I try / Not to hurt anybody I like / But I don’t have the drugs to sort it out,” he croons on “Afraid of Everyone” as the song comes to a close amid a flurry of uneasy noise. And on the gorgeous “Runaway,” Berninger asks, “What makes you think I’m enjoying being led to the flood? … We don’t bleed / When we don’t fight / Go ahead, go ahead / Throw your arms in the air tonight.”

Coming from any other band, those lyrics might seem trite, but Berninger’s delivery is genuine and his bandmates add such perfect, moving instrumentation that it makes for yet another masterpiece in the National’s catalog.

The National official Web site

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4AD Records