CD Review:Boxer - The National...favourite "best kept secret"

[KiwiCoromandel]

Everyone has a favourite "best kept secret" band but for my money it would be hard to beat Cincinnati's The National.

Alligator (2005) remains a fairly underground masterpiece but hopefully Boxer will change all that as some of the harsher edges are replaced with moody orchestral arrangements adding to the album's gothic feel.

While Boxer may be more rounded it doesn't lack that pent up energy, with drummer Bryan Devendorf leading the charge, especially on tracks such as Mistaken for Strangers and Squalor Victoria, where he plays like a man whose been on a horse meat diet as he gallops along.

Opener Fake Empire sets the sinister tone as Matt Berninger's dark baritone dissects middle America, "we're half awake in a fake empire".

There's an overwhelming feeling of despair and alienation to the album, (Green Gloves, Start a War) while Racing Like a Pro, featuring Sufjan Stevens on piano, leaves you in no doubt about his opinion of yuppies.

Berninger's a clever, if slightly esoteric, lyricist who soars on the back of the superbly layered guitars of brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner.

# The National's Boxer is out now through Beggars Banquet/Rhythmethod.

source:LINDSAY DAVIS/The Dominion Post

[DudeAsInCool]

Yep, its one of the better albums of the year and you can check out a number of music videos right HERE