There are a number of National songs that i don’t especially care for except for in a live setting. Graceless is one of those.
That’s a good prompt. I think I’d probably go with Mistaken for Strangers, Secret Meeting, or I’ll Still Destroy You in that instance.
Fake Empire always seemed like the quintessential "National" song to me, but that could be because Boxer was my first introduction to the band. It really feels like a statement, though.
I’d go with All the Wine, Bloodbuzz Ohio, and I Need My Girl. I think that represents their different sides and those are tracks that are more likely to get new people immediately interested enough to find the deeper cuts.
My personal “THIS is the National” trio is All the Wine. Secret Meeting, and Fake Empire. My music listener brain melted when I first heard their new EP Cherry Tree and then I heard their new album Alligator and then I heard their new album Boxer.
Flashback to 2007 discovering Mr. November on hypemachine and the player automatically queuing up Fake Empire second, at the time the pre-release single about a week before Boxer came out. Incredible that even with how insanely deep their catalog is I actually kind of still think those are their two best songs.
I figured there was a decent chance of a new record as soon as I saw the p4k headline spot but this is payoff to that hope waaay sooner than expected
Been bored of the National’s festival setlists for awhile now, but may go to p4k now in hopes they play new stuff
I disagree, the production of that album sounds like it was recorded in a broom closet with the mic placed outside.