New striking strokes

23 August 2022

(Info about the event here)

Three years after their 8th LP I Am Easy To Find,
Cincinnati combo THE NATIONAL are back in business.

They invited their close friend, Bon Iver‘s Justin Vernon (not the first time)
for some vocal assistance on the brand new single WEIRD GOODBYES.
So far only rumors about a new longplayer.

Berninger: “It’s about letting go of the past and moving on,
then later being overwhelmed by second thoughts.”

The song features a string arrangement by Bryce Dessner,
performed by the London Contemporary Orchestra.

Aaron Dessner (co-founder of the band): “I somehow could hear our friend Justin [Vernon]’s voice and heart in this song from the beginning. We sent it to him and it moved him – he then sang with Matt so powerfully. I was misusing drum machines, as usual, and stumbled onto this beat that got stuck in my head — it felt like something only Bryan [Devendorf] could naturally play. We built the song around the beat. Matt’s melody and words felt so elegant and moving from the beginning — mourning a loss of innocence and motivation, holding onto memories and feelings that inevitably slip away and the grief we all suffer in weird goodbyes.”

Weird Goodbyes is vintage The National. Moody, melancholic, bluesy, and instantly
touching. Warm vocals by crooners Berninger and Bon Iver‘s Justin Vernon.

Here’s the audio/ lyric clip.

THE NATIONAL: Instagram