THE NATIONAL - High Violet (2010), listens #3-5+

Lacking one single central thesis for this post, let's lead with this:  I like High Violet overall.  I think it's a good record.  It's not a record I unabashedly adore, and I'm going to tentatively say that it's not as good as Boxer... that's "tentative" because some of the songs on HV have that same knack of growing on me with repeat listens.  

There are three specific points I want to make about my overall impression of the record.  One is that the song construction is deep and often clever.  Two is to attempt to explain why I'm just not as excited about this one as I was about its predecessor.  Three is to emphasize which parts are exciting to me, and what I think they could mean about the future (relative to 2010) of the band.

Song construction:

We're well past the point where the National have figured out what it is that they do as a band, and well into the era where they're consistently good at it.  Almost all of the songs on High Violet are tightly put together, with every element having a reason to be there.  They seem to always respond to having a cool idea in a song with throwing in something else, always one extra twist.  Opener "Terrible Love" is a good example, in which it's pretty clear from the start that Matt is going to repeat a phrase over and over while the song builds to a climax.  The echo on the vocals and the introduction of the horns and the "this quiet company" counterpoint all play into that.  But then midsong the sound gets a lot more open - bolstered by the keys as usual - and the "it takes an ocean not to break" part bursts forward... and then the song goes on to show us how neatly that meshes with the previous vocal parts, overlayed over each other.  The best chorus on HV comes on "Anyone's Ghost," as already sort of highlighted in my previous post about the record, and it wouldn't work so well without all of its components - the vocal melody, those haunting chords, the way aforementioned haunting chords so subtly shift back and forth between keys and guitar (Aaron is just throwing the kitchen sink at this song here), and the punchy drumming.  It's energetic and wistful in equal parts.  I don't much care for the "my soul soul soul soul soul" ending refrain of "Afraid Of Everyone," a song whose first half I do quite like, but then the song nails its extended outro, with everyone sounding fired up.  

More examples of tightness of composition come from the successful marriage of songs' topics and how they sound, continuing how well they got that right on Boxer too.  "Runaway" could sound inert in isolation, but both the length and the overall tone are perfect for a song that seems to literally be about being too resigned and tired for the kind of drama that the couples from Boxer could conjure up.  "England," the best overall composition here, uses its brassy sounding synths sparingly in its first half to punctuate the references to cathedrals, and then lets those sounds go full bore in the sweeping climax of the song.  The National are just operating at a much higher level than a lot of other artists who play with similar soundscapes but are fine to throw together a few decent elements and call it a song.

Relative lack of excitement:

At its less-good, sure, not every song is going to be perfect.  For instance, "Little Faith" has an awesome bass part but the song as a whole doesn't click for me.  There's a bigger issue I have, though.  Stuff is starting to sound familiar.  I can't listen to the rather limp "Sorrow" with its "cover me in rag and bone" pre-chorus without thinking of the "fill yourself with quarters" pre-chrous of "Mistaken For Strangers."  The National are just out here doing National things.  The better songs, like "Anyone's Ghost," are often songs that would be right at home on Boxer.  The lesser songs, like "Lemonworld" (which sadly is the one that's sunken the most in my estimation on repeat listens) are often songs that maybe could have fit on Boxer, if they were better.   Most of High Violet is very safe.  Veteran bands doing the same things over and over invariably lose a certain freshness, and I'm seeing it happen here.

Evolution:

I say "most" above because there are moments that excite me.  I want to highlight "Conversation 16" here.  It doesn't start as a record highlight, although it's pretty good - you've got a rapid drumbeat, a slow buildup, a restrained vocal with lyrics about regret and numbness with wierdo metaphors (Hollywood inspired in this case).  So far, so typical.  Until the second pre-chorus dissolves into a turn of phrase that's a genuinely unexpected spin on the movie stuff - "I was afraid that I would eat your brains... because I-I-I... I'M EVIL," with Matt abruptly switching to a soaring climax.  That bit comes as a surprise given the song that led up to it.  I'd call it an outright "delightful" surprise.  "England" immediately follows on the record and is a little more conventional in its structure, but it also is a song in multiple sections, and this time for its basic underlying rhythm it lets Bryan play around some more and lets the strings and synths anchor the song, and, as mentioned above, be an integral part in the big ending.    

I think there are two things going on here.  One is just that the band continue to seem most excited about their songs that start quiet and build to a big climax, and I think we'll be hearing a lot more stuff in the vein of "Terrible Love," "Conversation 16," "England," and so on.  (And those songs are themselves in the vein of "Fake Empire," and so on.)  Beyond that, I think there's a real opportunity for growth here.  The National could stand to be a little more, dare I say, proggy?  Maybe that's not the right word, because most prog has time signature changes and shit, and I doubt that the National would ever shed their practice of having the same steady pulsating rhythm going throughout the entirety of a song.  That doesn't necessarily prevent them from doing longer and more elaborate songs with multiple parts and unexpected twists, though.  They can tell bigger musical stories than they have so far, or at least try to.  

Now, advising an indie-rock inspired band to sprawl out more with their songwriting is kind of asking for trouble.  Not a place for amateurs.  I do think the National just might have the chops for it.  Moreover, I think the National are going to feel like it's something they need to do, to keep things fresh.  

Obviously, my thoughts here are just one suggestion of how to evolve.  There are others, this is just the one that High Violet makes me think could be in the works.  Either way, we're kind of at a crossroads here.  They can keep making competent records that ultimately sound like lesser versions of Boxer, to gradually diminishing returns, or this can be a transition into a distinct chapter in their catalogue.  We'll see what happens next.  Ball's in your court, 2010 version of the National!

Stray comments:

)  It's worth noting the existence of The Virginia EP, which is mostly demos and alternate takes with a few non-album tracks.  I obviously skipped that in this career run-through, and I can't be bothered to care.

)  Did listen to an actual official live release available on my streaming service, a live EP with tracks taken from the "iTunes Festival" in 2010*.  Not a full show, so I won't break it down fully, but it did get me wondering whether they bring their whole entourage with them given the importance of the backing vocals and the horn parts of some of the newer tracks; that stuff sounded way too muted and rhythmic, so I assume it's pre-taped.  There was less of a stark difference between the studio and live versions than I'd expected; as expected, the rhythm section is usually propulsive enough to make the live versions sound like rock songs.  Hardest part to make sound just right live seems to be the "because I'm evil" part from "Conversation 16," even with everyone including the singer hitting the notes just fine.  The inclusion of "Available" (from Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers) emphasizes that the whole "adding a counterpoint as the song-closing vocal part instead of just doing another chorus" is far from a new trick here; they just do it better and more consistently now.

- Favorite track:  “England”
- Runner up: “Anyone's Ghost"
- Least favorite track:  “Bloodbuzz Ohio”
- Rating:  3.5/5

Definitive running list of records by the National that I have listened to in order of what I have decided is unambiguously their quality
1)  Boxer

2)  High Violet

3)  Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers
4)  Alligator
5)  The National
6)  Cherry Tree

Thoughts on Trouble Will Find Me whenever I get around to it!

*iTunes used to be a thing.