Local Boys Done Good (Again)
How about a little music this morning? Die-hard Indie fans worldwide likely already know about The National, a group of friends from Cincinnati who moved to Brooklyn to start the band in 1999. If the past few albums are any indication, the May 22 release of their new one, The Boxer (again on Beggars Banquet Records), should up their ever-growing profile even more (their last album, Alligator, was on many critic’s Top 10 lists for 2005). The band’s guitarist Bryce Dessner was recently in town curating the MusicNOW festival at Memorial Hall; he’ll be back in the area with his Nationalmates on June 15, performing at Oakley’s 20th Century Theater.
The following track is “Fake Empire,” the lead-off cut from The Boxer. It starts in trademark smoky, Leonard Cohen territory, but expands into a weird, slanted Art Rock freak-out as it progresses. Great stuff.
— Mike Breen
April 24, 2007 at 8:49 pm
I agree. The National ROCK!
They are also playing at Bonnaroo this summer if you can’t make it to the Cincinnati show.