TUTV said: “It’s Matt Berninger all right, crooning stories about his life, past and present.
His mellow and tender timbre is everywhere. All songs are stylistically polished, silkily orchestrated, while bluesy horns add a warm feel on a regular basis. Most of them could
easily be The National tunes. Leonard Cohen‘s muse is omnipresent. Impassioned intimacy
in motion.”
This week Berninger was a guest on the The Daily Show (US).
He performed Inland Ocean , the beautiful opener of the LP.
Cincinnati melancholics THE NATIONAL fronted by romantic vocalist/songwriter Matt Berninger released their 5th longplayer on 10 May 2010, today 15 years ago.
The album sold 51,000 copies in its first week of
sales, charting at number 3 on the Billboard 200.
Pitchfork said: “When they aim for powerful or poetic, they get there.
The sound of a band taking a mandate to be a meaningful rock band
seriously.”
Now, we got the news of an upcoming live album, titled ROME. It
was recorded, without overdubs, on June 3, 2024 at the architecturally
stunning venue Parco Della Musica Ennio Morricone in Rome.
The double album, mixed by longtime collaborator Peter Katis, spans
the band’s 20-plus years of songwriting and reveals how each song has
taken on a new life in its live performance.
The 2xLP set features 21 songs. Tracklist below.
Along with the news, comes a preview of Rome with 4-song EP titled NTL RM EP I with 4 Rome highlights “I Need My Girl”, “Lemonworld”,
“The Geese of Beverly Road” and “Lit Up“.
ROME will be out in time for the
Xmas season, on December 13th.
1. Runaway 2. Eucalyptus 3. Tropic Morning News 4. New Order T-Shirt 5. Don’t Swallow The Cap 6. Bloodbuzz Ohio 7. The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness 8. I Need My Girl 9. Lemonworld 10. The Geese of Beverly Road 11. Lit Up 12. Alien 13. Humiliation 14. Murder Me Rachael 15. England 16. Graceless 17. Fake Empire 18. Smoke Detector 19. Mr November 20. Terrible Love 21. Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks
They’re on an extensive tour right now, but made time to perform on American TV
on The Late Show, last week. They played SPACE INVADER from Laugh Track.
Last weekend, THE NATIONAL played at their own Homecoming Fest in
their hometown of Cincinnati. At one point, frontman/crooner Matt Berninger
announced a new LP, only 5 months after their grand LP First Two Pages Of Frankenstein.
It’s titled LAUGH TRACK and was already on sale, on a limited edition,
at the festival, with no front cover. Now the longplayer is available
worldwide.
Pitchfork says: “The National extends its predecessor’s subdued mood and
reclusive purview. This band still has a fierce rock record in them. Maybe
next time they’ll make it.”
TUTV: Laugh Track is The National by numbers. Not great, not bad. No idea
why they didn’t release it with First Two Pages Of Frankenstein as a double LP.
Commercial reasons, I guess.
