THE NATIONAL: First Two Pages of Frankenstein

A little bit of aggression goes a long, long way for a band like The National.  Over the past two decades, they've become one of rock's most consistent underdogs, making records of sublime, understated beauty that never quite cracked the radio markets.  Their excellent ninth album, First Two Pages of Frankenstein, shakes things up with just the right uptick of noise and experimentation.

That's not to say that The National has gone all R.E.M. and tossed off a Monster garage rock record.  But check out the digital sheen on Alien.  Check out the ringing guitars on Eucalyptus.  The songs are as smart and sophisticated as ever, but with a polish that instantly distinguishes them from the band that wrote This Is The Last Time only a few years ago.

There are still plenty of hauntingly beautiful moments that we've come to expect.  But for the first time in the band's career, they're fully incorporating drum loops and guitar leads and the results are surprisingly fluid.  This Isn’t Helping features hypnotic backing vocals from Phoebe Bridgers for what might just be the break-up song of the year.  Not every band can make a concerted step toward the spotlight at this stage in their career; usually it ends up sounding a little desperate.  First Two Pages… proves that The National can take something as artificial as a drum loop and make it sound from the heart.  A-