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The National have worn a lot of hats since their 2001 debut, but they’ve never been able to shake the rural, book-smart, quiet malevolence of the Midwest. The Brooklyn-groomed, Ohio-bred indie rock quintet’s fifth full-length album navigates that lonely dirt road where swagger meets desperation like a seasoned tour guide, and while it may take a few songs to get going, there are treasures to be found for patient passengers. The National's profile rose considerably after 2007’s critically acclaimed The Boxer, and they have used that capital to craft a flawed gem of a record that highlights their strengths and weaknesses with copious amounts of red ink. High Violet oozes atmosphere, but moves at a snail’s pace. The Cousteau-esque “Terrible Love” hardly bursts out of the gate, and the subsequent “Sorrow” and “Anyone’s Ghost” (despite Bryan Devendorf’s locomotive drumming) lack the hooks to reel anybody in on first listen. The album begins to take shape on “Afraid of Everyone,” a slow-build midtempo rocker that expertly utilizes the Clogs’ (guitarist Bryce Dessner's other chamber pop band) prickly orchestrations, but it’s the punishing “Bloodbuzz Ohio” that serves as High Violet's centerpiece. Built on a foundation that fuses together TV on the Radio's “Halfway Home” and Arcade Fire's “No Cars Go,” its refrain of “I still owe money to the money, to the money I owe” seems both relevant and nostalgic, resulting in a highway anthem that feels like the anti-“Born to Run.” Other standout cuts like “Conversation 16,” “England," and the darkly funny/oddly beautiful closer, “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks,” trumpet Violet’s second-half supremacy, but even they tremble beneath the "Bloodbuzz" intoxication. Muscular, miserable, mighty, and meandering, High Violet aims for the seats, but only hits about half of them.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
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Peter Katis, MixingEngineer - Aaron Dessner, Composer, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - The National, MainArtist - Thomas Bartlett, StudioMusician - Padma Newsome, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management, MusicPublisher - Matt Berninger, Lyricist, AssociatedPerformer - Bryan Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryce Dessner, AssociatedPerformer - BMG Rights Management US LLC, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2010 4AD Ltd 2009 4AD Ltd
Peter Katis, MixingEngineer - Hideaki Aomori, StudioMusician - Nadia Sirota, StudioMusician - Rob Moose, StudioMusician - Richard Reed Parry, StudioMusician - Aaron Dessner, Composer, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - The National, MainArtist - Thomas Bartlett, StudioMusician - Mads Brauer, AssociatedPerformer - BMG Rights Management, MusicPublisher - Matt Berninger, Lyricist, AssociatedPerformer - Bryan Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryce Dessner, AssociatedPerformer - Marla Hansen, StudioMusician - María Jeffers, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management US LLC, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2010 4AD Ltd 2009 4AD Ltd
Peter Katis, MixingEngineer - Hideaki Aomori, StudioMusician - Rob Moose, StudioMusician - Richard Reed Parry, StudioMusician - Aaron Dessner, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - The National, MainArtist - Thomas Bartlett, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management, MusicPublisher - Matt Berninger, Lyricist, AssociatedPerformer - Bryan Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryce Dessner, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - María Jeffers, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management US LLC, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2010 4AD Ltd 2009 4AD Ltd
Peter Katis, MixingEngineer - Aaron Dessner, Composer, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - The National, MainArtist - Thomas Bartlett, StudioMusician - Padma Newsome, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management, MusicPublisher - Matt Berninger, Lyricist, AssociatedPerformer - Bridget Kibbey, StudioMusician - Bryan Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryce Dessner, AssociatedPerformer - Tim Albright, StudioMusician - María Jeffers, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management US LLC, MusicPublisher - Alex Sopp, StudioMusician - Jeremy Thal, StudioMusician - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2010 4AD Ltd 2009 4AD Ltd
Sufjan Stevens, StudioMusician - Peter Katis, MixingEngineer - Hideaki Aomori, StudioMusician - Rob Moose, StudioMusician - Aaron Dessner, Composer, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - The National, MainArtist - Thomas Bartlett, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management, MusicPublisher - Matt Berninger, Lyricist, AssociatedPerformer - Scott Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryan Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryce Dessner, AssociatedPerformer - Ben Lanz, StudioMusician - María Jeffers, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management US LLC, MusicPublisher - Jeremy Thal, StudioMusician - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2010 4AD Ltd 2009 4AD Ltd
Peter Katis, MixingEngineer - Richard Reed Parry, StudioMusician - Aaron Dessner, Composer, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - The National, MainArtist - Thomas Bartlett, StudioMusician - Padma Newsome, Composer - Mads Brauer, AssociatedPerformer - BMG Rights Management, MusicPublisher - Matt Berninger, Lyricist, AssociatedPerformer - Scott Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryan Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryce Dessner, AssociatedPerformer - Kyle Resnick, StudioMusician - Ben Lanz, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management US LLC, MusicPublisher - Laurel Sprengelmeyer, StudioMusician - Jeremy Thal, StudioMusician - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2010 4AD Ltd 2009 4AD Ltd
Peter Katis, MixingEngineer - Nadia Sirota, StudioMusician - Rob Moose, StudioMusician - Aaron Dessner, Composer, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - The National, MainArtist - Thomas Bartlett, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management, MusicPublisher - Matt Berninger, Lyricist, AssociatedPerformer - Bryan Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryce Dessner, AssociatedPerformer - BMG Rights Management US LLC, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2010 4AD Ltd 2009 4AD Ltd
Peter Katis, MixingEngineer - Aaron Dessner, Composer, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - The National, MainArtist - Thomas Bartlett, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management, MusicPublisher - Matt Berninger, Lyricist, AssociatedPerformer - Scott Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryan Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryce Dessner, AssociatedPerformer - Tim Albright, StudioMusician - María Jeffers, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management US LLC, MusicPublisher - Jeremy Thal, StudioMusician - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2010 4AD Ltd 2009 4AD Ltd
Peter Katis, MixingEngineer - Hideaki Aomori, StudioMusician - Richard Reed Parry, StudioMusician - Aaron Dessner, Composer, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - The National, MainArtist - Thomas Bartlett, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management, MusicPublisher - Matt Berninger, Lyricist, AssociatedPerformer - Scott Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryan Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryce Dessner, AssociatedPerformer - María Jeffers, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management US LLC, MusicPublisher - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2010 4AD Ltd 2009 4AD Ltd
Peter Katis, MixingEngineer - Aaron Dessner, Composer, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - The National, MainArtist - Thomas Bartlett, StudioMusician - Padma Newsome, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management, MusicPublisher - Matt Berninger, Lyricist, AssociatedPerformer - Scott Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryan Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryce Dessner, AssociatedPerformer - Tim Albright, StudioMusician - María Jeffers, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management US LLC, MusicPublisher - Jeremy Thal, StudioMusician - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2010 4AD Ltd 2009 4AD Ltd
Peter Katis, MixingEngineer - Nico Muhly, AssociatedPerformer - Nadia Sirota, StudioMusician - Rob Moose, StudioMusician - Justin Vernon, AssociatedPerformer - Richard Reed Parry, StudioMusician - Aaron Dessner, Composer, Producer, AssociatedPerformer - The National, MainArtist - Thomas Bartlett, StudioMusician - BMG Rights Management, MusicPublisher - Matt Berninger, Lyricist, AssociatedPerformer - Scott Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryan Devendorf, AssociatedPerformer - Bryce Dessner, AssociatedPerformer - Marla Hansen, AssociatedPerformer - BMG Rights Management US LLC, MusicPublisher - Laurel Sprengelmeyer, AssociatedPerformer - CMRRA, MusicPublisher
2010 4AD Ltd 2009 4AD Ltd
Album review
The National have worn a lot of hats since their 2001 debut, but they’ve never been able to shake the rural, book-smart, quiet malevolence of the Midwest. The Brooklyn-groomed, Ohio-bred indie rock quintet’s fifth full-length album navigates that lonely dirt road where swagger meets desperation like a seasoned tour guide, and while it may take a few songs to get going, there are treasures to be found for patient passengers. The National's profile rose considerably after 2007’s critically acclaimed The Boxer, and they have used that capital to craft a flawed gem of a record that highlights their strengths and weaknesses with copious amounts of red ink. High Violet oozes atmosphere, but moves at a snail’s pace. The Cousteau-esque “Terrible Love” hardly bursts out of the gate, and the subsequent “Sorrow” and “Anyone’s Ghost” (despite Bryan Devendorf’s locomotive drumming) lack the hooks to reel anybody in on first listen. The album begins to take shape on “Afraid of Everyone,” a slow-build midtempo rocker that expertly utilizes the Clogs’ (guitarist Bryce Dessner's other chamber pop band) prickly orchestrations, but it’s the punishing “Bloodbuzz Ohio” that serves as High Violet's centerpiece. Built on a foundation that fuses together TV on the Radio's “Halfway Home” and Arcade Fire's “No Cars Go,” its refrain of “I still owe money to the money, to the money I owe” seems both relevant and nostalgic, resulting in a highway anthem that feels like the anti-“Born to Run.” Other standout cuts like “Conversation 16,” “England," and the darkly funny/oddly beautiful closer, “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks,” trumpet Violet’s second-half supremacy, but even they tremble beneath the "Bloodbuzz" intoxication. Muscular, miserable, mighty, and meandering, High Violet aims for the seats, but only hits about half of them.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 11 track(s)
- Total length: 00:47:34
- Main artists: The National
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: 4AD
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock Alternative & Indie
2010 4AD Ltd 2010 4AD Ltd
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