THE NATIONAL - First Two Pages Of Frankenstein (2023), listen #2

I've devoted paragraphs in multiple previous posts to the idea that National songs have layers.  They have the knack for adding in just enough elements to inspire the listener to take a deeper look at what seemed to be just another mid-tempo song with a guy mumbling about relationship issues.  Well, we have a record that could be a bunch of mid-tempo songs with a guy mumbling about relationship issues.  In my mind, my early impression is that most songs on First Two Pages have one element that makes them a little bit more than they first appear, and just might be that last missing ingredient that puts a song over the top to becoming a favorite.  Or not.  But here's a list of the potential special sauces:

"Once Upon A Poolside" - The aah-aah-aah backing vocals during the climax.

"Eucalyptus" - Actually gonna go with the lyrics!  At first I was turned off by the device of starting every line with "what about the..." until halfway through the second listen it abruptly clicked that Matt was singing about divvying up years togethers' worth of stuff.  Suddenly the details seemed to add to the song.  The chorus (or pre-chourus, whatever) of "you should take it, cuz I'm not gonna take it" seemed to work on multiple levels, as did "if miss it, I'll visit" and "it wouldn't be fair."  I still think the song is limited musically and I don't love the way Matt does a whiny-yell the way he always does when he wants to make sure we get that he's playing a character, but I can't help but vibe with the way this track can be exactly as passive-aggressive as the listener wants it to be.

"New Order T-Shirt" - Nothing for me.

"This Isn't Helping" - Another one that to me seems to be exactly what it seems to be, without a special element.

"Tropic Morning News" - Two things: one, the way halfway through the verse the energy level changes (I don't remember whether it actually speeds up or just brings in more instruments to make it feel faster), and two, the extended chatty chorus.

"Alien" - The drum part.

"The Alcott" - How halfway through the song the backup vocals suddenly change from just singing along with Matt into a full Taylor-Swifty second part that talks back to him.

"Grease In Your Hair" - The way the swelling instruments at the end makes the track feel "big," despite not being particularly loud or rockin'.

"Ice Machines" - The main acoustic guitar figure having two different down notes, each coming at a different part in the measure.

"Your Mind Is Not Your Friend" - Restraint such that the other instruments never overshadow that great piano part.  I was delighted as what could have been a cheesy cello part kept in its lane and let the piano do its thing, and slightly disappointed that the very end of the song does do a big sappy orchestral swell... but you can always hear the piano clearly.  You write a piano part like that, it needs to drive the song, and YMINYF mostly understands the assignment.

"Send For Me" - The buzzy twitching guitar tone.  It adds an insect-like hum to prevent placidity.

The point of the above exercise wasn't solely to list a bunch of elements of songs I haven't fully assimilated.  The point I'm trying to make here is that at first blush, First Two Pages is kinda there as a record.  I'm at about the same place that I was with I Am Easy To Find after two spins.  (Whereas something like Sleep Well Beast I was well on the way to being sold on its quality by listen #2.)  But even if I weren't "forced" to keep listening because I'm doing a writing project, and even if I didn't already know that National records tend to grow on me, I do feel like that list of elements above is proof that the songs are worth coming back to.  Usually when I'm in this position with a record it means that elements for greatness are there but not quite coming together, and said record is in fact average (for me).  At the moment I'm finding the record pretty average; most likely outcome is that that'll end up also being my final conclusion.  And yet, I have also been pleasantly surprised, here and there, with how a few pieces of music revealed themselves to me on later listens; it's certainly not impossible that that'll happen here.

But yeah, more time needed before I pass any kind of final judgment.  Historical precedent says that at least two songs that I thought were middling are going to sink their hooks into me on third or fourth listen.  Will it be something obvious, like the charms of the chorus of "Alien" becoming irresistable, or me finding new layers in the back-and-forth of "The Alcott?"  Or will it be something that's not on my radar at all yet?  They often do that.

Favorite track:  "Tropic Morning News"

Runner up:  "Your Mind Is Not Your Friend"

Least favorite track:  "New Order T-Shirt"

Preliminary rating:  3/5

Thoughts on listen #3 and beyond whenever I get around to it!