The National Essentials

The National Essentials

Like a tattered paperback you've read and re-read, The National are a gift that keeps on giving. Vocalist Matt Berninger is one of indie rock's best storytellers, drawing gimlet-eyed portraits of frustrated sophisticates, even when he's screaming his head off. And he has the perfect canvas: crosshatched guitars, giddy polyrhythms and the occasional horn or string section, all of it constantly on the brink of toppling over. Don't be surprised if the confessional urgency of songs like “Bloodbuzz Ohio” and “I Need My Girl” makes you want to return to that novel you never finished writing.

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