As the national’s biggest fan on this side of the world (and probably in the entire world), let me be the first to tell you that High Violet will not leave you asking for more, nor is it a letdown, sell-out, and whatever else people are saying about it. We all anticipate our favorite bands’ releases, but I’ve personally been waiting for High Violet with a whole different kind of anticipation that only intensified after each live performance they did. Heck, they’ve been whetting my appetite and driving me crazy for over a year now (ever since they played Runaway for the first time).
Even if you haven’t listened to the album yet and are waiting to buy it (and I applaud you for your patience which I completely lack, but I swear I’ll be buying this album in every format it comes out in), you’ve probably already heard about 7 tracks that have all been leaked on YouTube from live performances. And from those live performances, I think it’s safe to conclude that they’ve taken a more “dramatic” turn from Boxer which actually had some uhhhh, upbeat tunes (?) (well, as upbeat as The National can get, anyway).
They’ve injected some serious adrenaline into their music here. Alligator was their 1st hit album, and Mr. November was their crowd pleaser with its passion, viciousness and high yelled notes. And what I absolutely love about High Violet is that there’s that same intensity and passion that was in Alligator (and Mr. November) but played out with instruments rather than high vocals which, in my opinion, makes it all that more chilling and brings us back to the nerve-jangling mood found in Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers and some of their self-titled (and yes, Alligator and Boxer but honestly, I don’t see the relation as much as others are claiming).
Terrible Love isn’t as terrible as everyone’s wittily remarking on various review sites, though I agree it doesn’t sound as good as it did when they performed it live on Fallon and the quality was a concern (it’s the opening track and I was worried the whole leaked version was this awful in terms of audio quality but hey, this IS a leaked version so shut up already) HOWEVER, even with the toning down of Devendorf’s mind-blowing drumming, it still grows on you. But remember, this isn’t the final version and I still hope to God they add more percussions to the final version because it’s truly a shame so much was cut out from their live performance.
The album moves swiftly onto Sorrow which, regardless of how many instruments are playing, blends effortlessly and still manages to feel authentic and warm. “Sorrow found me when I was young, sorrow waited, sorrow won” A perfect broken-hearted, melancholy tune that I can see myself crying to at some point in the future. Anyone’s Ghost takes us back to All Dolled Up In Straps from the Cherry Tree EP; I think it’s a perfect follow-up of the song with the concept of unrequited love and stalkerish tendencies being nurtured to the point of shadowing a person and driving yourself insane towards self-destruction. Love obsession disjointedly described at its best!
“I’m afraid of everyone and I don’t have the drugs to sort it out,” Afraid Of Everyone is one of the few “dark” songs I’ve heard from The National, with backing vocals that add to its eeriness. It’s not haunting dark, just troubling dark and it’s distressingly lovely. I absolutely love the electro guitar work that comes in phases and then that outro, amazing stuff.
Bloodbuzz Ohio is the only song on High Violet that I feel COULD have (very awkwardly) fit on Boxer (doesn’t it start off like Brainy!?). The tempo sounds like something off Boxer, and even though it’s my least favourite off the album, it’s still a pretty sweet (albeit familiar sounding) track especially the opening lines, “I stand up straight at the foot of your love. I life my shirt up.” BEAUTIFUL.
Lemonworld should get a 5 star ranking for its rough guitar riffs and “Losin’ my breath, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo” alone! This is one of those “instantaneously satisfying” songs that will make you grit down hard and tap your feet out of tune. AND NOTICE, Matt stays so sombre throughout, no yells, no high vocals, very heart-wretchedly drenched sounding throughout.
You’d think Runaway would be overplayed at 5:30mins long with the same ardent lyrics repeated over, “I won’t be no runaway, cos I won’t run” and “What makes you think I enjoy being led to the flood? We’ve got another thing coming undone and it’s taking us over” — but its spaciousness is actually meticulously delectable and you don’t even find yourself waiting for a high climax to bring it to an end because it’s so vulnerable…which makes it another great example of how this album succeeds without Berninger having to pull another Mr. November.
Conversation 16 was one of my instant favorites, “I was afraid I’d eat your brains, cos I’m evil” – stunning lyrics, amazing rock-out music, and the chorus will stick in your head for hours. I kept singing this on the bus yesterday and scared the guy in front of me.
England and Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks are both great examples of how The National leisurely build a song to impressive heights and get the blood pumping around your body at strange speed.
I don’t care how many of you call this album depressing because there really isn’t a single “depressing” song on this album, nor does it at any point come across mawkish. It may be “miserable love music” at its best, but Berninger’s voice coupled with the beautiful vociferous musical arrangement give their music a sense of hope…and even romance.
