The band’s 9th studio album sees them move in more of an experimental direction.

The National are a band that are loved by many for their ability to write music that is both relatable and catchy whilst highlighting many of life’s feelings of impending doom. The quintet from Ohio kept this theme up on their most recent album “Sleep Well Beast”, the long awaited follow up from 2012’s “Trouble Will Find Me”. Where that album was more focused on the likes of the group’s traditional instrumentation, this LP sees the band make use of drum machines and synthesizers, giving the record overall a structured and somewhat mathy feel.

The opening track of the album, “Nobody Else Will Be There“, immediately sets the tone of the album with its melancholy chord progression played on piano which is met with Matt Berninger’s signature baritone vocals, singing about the lack of consideration and empathy seen in life mixed with dark thoughts of alcoholism. This then builds up to the middle 8 in which a string section plays a sad decent, combined with the pained vocals and lyrics, highlights the true feeling of sadness brought upon to the listener.

Another particular standout track on the record is “Turtleneck“. This song brings elements of some of The National’s earlier material with huge guitar leads and buckets of energy. It truly feels like a punch in the face on first listen from the sheer amount of energy exuded by the song, particularly with the vocal delivery at the chorus with Berninger practically screaming at some points, it truly is a standout track on this record.

A track that I simply do not enjoy on this album is the title track. One of the longest songs on the album but at the same time the least dynamic, lyrically bland songs the band have released, I simply find it to feel like a chore to listen to as much as it pains me to say as a huge fan.

All in all, this album is definitely a grower and with the emphasis on more electronic sounds, I am definitely excited to see what the band do for their follow-up record.

7.7/10

You can listen to the album here.

The California band released their newest album back in July and has received critical acclaim from fans.

Pushing what was hinted at on their previous LP “New Bermuda” and improving upon it tenfold, the Californian black metal meets shoegaze outfit have shown why they are heavy hitter in the genre. After being teased with the singles “Honeycomb” and “Canary Yellow” earlier in the year it could be seen that the band had remained true to form with their characteristically lengthy tracks and complex song structures while also highlighting more post rock influenced guitar playing which was hinted at on their previous LP.

The stand out track on this album for me was “Glint“. Starting with reverb and delay drenched guitars and an infectiously melodic drum beat before suddenly bursting into a heavily distorted, double kick fueled wall of instrumentation backed up with the iconic vocal styling of the band before changing once more to a more grooved out section then once again to a very melodically heavy section with a simple yet catchy guitar solo which then makes another standout appearance, bringing the song to an end. I can easily hear this song being on one of their earlier albums, as it has a particularly “Sunbather” era Deafheaven feel to it.

Overall I found this album to be an enjoyable continuation in the bands’ career.

7.8/10

The album can be listened to here.