The National

High Violet

(4AD)

Record Review by Alex Pudlin

Two twins, another pair of brothers and a lanky guy with a deep voice start a band. It would all be the perfect indie-rock joke setup if only this cast of characters hadn’t just made their third straight modern masterpiece. Brooklyn by way of Cincinnati based The National have built a slow, steady following that mirrors their sound itself. 2005’s Alligator and 2008’s Boxer were albums more often described for their gradually seductive hold on the listener than for their actual content. And with their latest, High Violet, The National probably will not shed their “grower” reputation anytime soon. However, if you resist the urge to merely throw High Violet on in the background, you will find that it retains an intensity so far unparalleled in the National’s steady career.

High Violet begins with the musical equivalent of the play-action pass. As the slightly distorted guitar and bass drum hits of “Terrible Love” give way to Matt Berninger’s musings about “walking with spiders,” it sounds like business as usual. But the handoff down the middle is a 1 ½ minute ploy. The bassline begins a thrilling misdirection pass. Slightly funky and a bit loose, the bass winds around a simple piano line and Bryan Devendorf’s perennially show-stopping drum patterns. Background vocals swoosh in to reveal a dizzying complexity that the National has merely hinted at in the past. “It takes an ocean not to break” sings Berninger, as the music provides a veritable Baltic for him to work off of. It’s by no means a drastic sound overhaul a la those horrific Timbaland-produced Chris Cornell tracks. Yet it hints that the National may have a few tricks up their sleeve this time out.

Indeed, the rhythms have grown tighter and the arrangements have both condensed and expanded. Case in point is “Runaway.” A gentle guitar and piano-led lullaby rubs against strings that pile heavier with each measure. Yet rather than clutter the mix, the individual parts merge and push forth like a giant Katamari ball.   On “Afraid of Everyone,” Berninger steps into the negative space created by a subtly shifting guitar rift and sublimely hazy backing vocals, his paranoid quips like “I don’t have the drugs to sort it out” in plain sight. “Anyone’s Ghost” tells the story of a crumbling romance atop a mid-tempo vamp. Berninger’s gothic horror and post-apocalyptic allusions combine with screaming guitars and organ to create a fitting compliment. And if that’s not enough, The National decide to end the album with three showstoppers. “Conversation 16,” “England,” and the Justin Vernon-adorned “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks” form a set of stairs, each one driving High Violet higher and closer to its final glorious chord.

To be fair, a casual listen may reveal nothing that resembles the words above. To really experience High Violet in all its muted intensity, you’re best to follow one of the rituals divulged on “Anyone’s Ghost”: “go out at night with your headphones on.” And just soak it all in.