A lot has happened to The National since they last released a record, 2019’s I Am Easy To Find (QRO review). Some of it was shared by every human on the planet (the COVID pandemic), and some was ultra-exclusive (working with Taylor Swift). Band members went their separate ways for other projects, from guitarist Aaron Dessner producing folklore to singer Matt Berninger’s solo Serpentine Prison (QRO review). The wait for them to get back together, to deliver a new album, has only made expectations higher & higher, not to mention becoming the signature ‘sad dad rock’ band in the way friend Phoebe Bridgers is signature ‘sad girl pop’. Well, now they’ve gotten back together, brought in their friends, and released another expectations-fulfilling masterpiece with First Two Pages of Frankenstein.
You knew there was going to be epic, tragic beauty with The National, and Pages has that, from the resigned personal tragedy of “This Isn’t Helping” (with Bridgers) to the piano-led sorrow of “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend” (also with Bridgers, because one can’t have enough Pharbz). Yet there are also moments of hope out of the sadness, such as lead single “Tropic Morning News” (QRO review) to the intimate duet “The Alcott” (with Swift herself). What’s more, other sides of The National get featured as well. “Eucalyptus” (QRO review) is the absolutely heartbreaking evocation that you’ve known from the band since Berninger first went into the crowd on “Mr. November”, while “Grease In Your Hair” is a throwback to their building-into-boom of earlier years.
Once upon a time, The National were quietly one of the best bands out there, but now more & more people know that. Yet they’ve done anything but rest on their laurels, instead building upon them, bringing the sadness dads, girls, and us all want.
