THE NATIONAL - Cherry Tree (2004), listen #1
Listening to the 2021 remaster, in the unlikely event that anyone is capable of caring.
Just listening to an EP without any context is a different experience
compared to the way it would have been received in 2004. Makes it a fun writing exercise for me. But I imagine that anyone who was a big
enough National fan to have picked up a not-a-full-record by the band would have
had some awareness that it was coming, and would have read some quotes about
why this thing exists and what the National were going for. Having none of that, I had to speculate on whether
this was a few songs that were brand new that they were really excited about…
or just some songs that didn’t fit elsewhere (or a palate cleanser, so they
could put out some product to maintain a release schedule/record contract
without cutting a full record).
Basically, is it a forward-looking EP or a backward looking EP? Something new, or an extension of the Sad
Songs cycle?
Speaking in favor of the former, I believe that one of the songs here ends up on Alligator. But I gotta tell you, I really hope it’s the latter expalanation (backwards-looking). If this is a taste of the band’s future, it’s a bit of a worrying one for me, because of how rote so much of it sounds, at least on first listen. Everything that seemed to vibrant and unpredictable about Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers? Not in evidence here. It’s a bunch of samey sounding indie rock songs without much in the way of discernable hooks, insights, or memorability. One thing that makes the EP sound backward looking is that they pad it out by including a live version of “Murder Me Rachael” – three guesses as to which song stands out as way more exciting than anything else on Cherry Tree. Matt even deigns to yell the yelly parts out loud!
So, of the new tracks, what did stand out? The delivery on the lyric “I’m a perfect
piece of ass” (from “All The Wine”) at least got my attention, but the song
didn’t hold it. The there was a game of “guess
the sound” during the title track. “Cherry
Tree” has a deep staccato note that keeps popping up that made me wonder what
it was – a dog? A weird voice? A synthesizer of some sort? Based on the rest of the song, I ultimately
concluded it was a cello. That was the
in to appreciate the different instruments playing off each other in that
song. Now, I haven’t dived into the
lyrics yet so I don’t know why the song culminates in numerous repetitions of the
expression “loose lips sink ships,” seemingly apropos of nothing that led up to
it. But “Cherry Tree” (the song) has a
tense coiled sort of energy, interesting guitar and cello (?) lines, and
multiple distinct parts, so it’s the highlight of the EP by default. I’d take a record of songs that sound like “Cherry
Tree.” Otherwise the other standout
would probably be “A Reasonable Man,” which commits to its minimalism in a way
that works.
But according to Apple Music, the starred track (usually the single) is “About Today?” Really? Which one was that? I think it was the bland sounding one where they play a simple chord pattern and Matt mumbles something nondescript over it.
I deliberately wrote all of the above based on no research and will not edit it unless it’s for content. But a quick bit of Googling reveals “A Reasonable Man” is credited to one Padma Newsome, a guy from Bryce’s other project, Clogs who played strings on a few tracks here and I guess has worked with the National here and there over the years. Internet further says that “All The Wine” is the one that they put on LP #3, and that this had enough limited-edition releases that I’m guessing it was a minor enough release that most never heard it. But cursory searching doesn’t provide a clear explanation of the thinking, process, and intent behind Cherry Tree.
My thoughts on listen #2 whenever I get around to it!
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