THE NATIONAL - First Two Pages Of Frankenstein (2023), listen #1

First Two Pages Of Frankenstein opens with a sparse song built around a repeating piano riff because, well, of course it does, they always do that.  As I was listening to "Once Upon A Poolside" I found myself wondering if during the inevitable second half shift of the song (of course there's a complementary second half, they always do that) would have the whole band come in, or whether they'd show a little restraint.  I was digging the simpler song and was hoping it wouldn't get washed out in a flood of atmospheric synths and guitars.  And it didn't!  Given that the National have added all of the elements and have gotten to the point where even other singers randomly popping in is pretty business as usual, is restraint their next bold frontier?  Going out of their way not to add extra ideas to a song?  To make that work, obviously the songwriting has to be there - and I do recall that the National, early in their career, did more often try for minimalist tracks and a lot of times I disliked them because the ideas just weren't that strong or interesting.*

As usual, give me a few listens before I decide how strong and interesting the ideas are on this one.  So far - and here's that unique insight one gets from reading this blog! - some parts are better than others.  Negative example: the second track, "Eucalyptus," attempts to build a "rock" song around a marginally upbeat guitar bit that they play over and over because of course that's what track #2 is, they always do that, and, well, it didn't really stand out.  Whereas other songs are more positive examples in that they hammer home that thing that the National have historically done so well, the melancholy minor key hook.  The strongest example of that for me at the moment is "Tropic Morning News," but you can also hear good hooks of that sort on the aforementioned "Poolside," "This Isn't Helping," and a few others.  The National seemingly are now saving their big "awash with atmosphere" moments for when they want to spruce up a really straightforward track, like "Alien," which features a simple pure pop melody line.  Somewhere between minimalist and maximalist, if I remember right, is closer "Send For Me" which brings instruments in and out while repeating a simple offer of support for someone over and over in a way that, at least on first listen, I do not think is meant to be ironic. 

I never know when I'll have the bandwidth to dive into Matt's lyrics, as I may have mentioned a few times, here and there, that I often find doing so, um, simultaneously challenging and unsatisfying.  I'll idly speculate whether he has his own footprint in pop culture on the brain when one song references hipster darlings Cowboy Junkies and Afghan Whigs and the very next track is titled "New Order T-Shirt," but, whatever, I dunno.  

I don't think the National's place in pop culture dramatically changes with its own collaborations.  Now they have this reciprocal exchange program going with Taylor Swift, apparently starting after Aaron joined her writing team a few years earlier, in which she and they routinely do guest spots on each others' records.  On first listen I like "The Alcott" pretty well - seems like a good pairing, especially since the effects that they put on Taylor's voice make it sound like she's coming in from another project.  That's a good thing, because it does make the song stand out as something different and not just another National duet.  

I think just liking someone's music is a perfectly plausible explanation for this particular collab; it doesn't seem desperate, or like too heavily calculated an effort to give anyone "the rub" (as the pro wrestling fans say).  It's interesting, because on the one hand I can't imagine the National's reputation changing much one way or another, whether their collaborators be indie darlings Sufjan Stevens and Phoebe Bridgers** or big famous media person Taylor Swift.***  Maybe Taylor gets a bit of cred as a "serious" artist when critical darlings show up on her record.  But then, the 2020s are pretty poptimistic; I think most of the music elitists who love the National were already taking Taylor seriously anyway.  The National, well, for better or for worse their place in the music pantheon is what it is.  I don't think they'll ever go multi-platinum.  I think they'll always have a certain credibility and won't ever be branded sellouts or hashtag-problematic, no matter what musical departures they make.  I can't imagine a legion of Swifties flocking to check out their stuff, but, well, if a handful just find out that the band exists and are inspired to check out their back catalogue, well, that's maybe a few new fans, and any brand needs a few new fans to stay viable long-term.

That's about it for now.  Final thought: I have no memory of what happens in the first two pages of Frankenstein, and I don't think I have it on my shelf anymore.  Presumably some frame story shit with the Arctic voyage?

Favorite track (preliminary):  "Tropic Morning News"

Runner up (preliminary):  "Send For Me"

Least favorite (preliminary):  "New Order T-Shirt"

[No rating yet]

Thoughts on listen #2 whenever I get around to it!

*"Wasp Nest" still sucks.

**about both of whom I have of course always been thoroughly and consistently complimentary... I mean, it takes talent to consistently make music that clearly requires such skill yet completely fails to arouse the slightest interest in this listener.

***As obvious evidence how minor the gulf is between the critic's picks and the pop stars, Taylor and Phoebe would of course go on tour together not long after this record came out.