Bloodbuzz Ohio – The National Bloodbuzz Ohio – The National (Buy)

Whenever I think of The National, I think of my friend Mike, who first put their beautiful, haunting song, Fake Empire, on one of his famous mix CDs. Before listening to The National’s melancholy, dark, yet great, new album High Violet, I really had only heard Fake Empire (on repeat!) and a few of their other songs on their last album Boxer, but I really liked what I heard. With High Violet, I loved what I heard. It’s a sensational, beautiful album with an epic, sweeping quality about it. It’s perfect music for a rainy day in New York City or even just a calm moment in your life when you want to just drive and think.

I think most of the album’s power comes from lead singer Matt Berninger’s voice, which is so deep and sorrowful that it cuts right through you. Songs like Terrible Love and England, with its simple, yet gorgeous piano opening, remind me very much of Canadian band Arcade Fire, who craft massive music hall songs (by this I mean a lot of instruments, and strings, and great vocals). The entire album sounds like a letter to a lost lover or a person remembering all of the things they don’t want to with lyrics like, “you must be somewhere in London, you must be loving your life in the rain” from England (one of my favorite tracks).

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Tracks like Little Faith and Runaway add to the album’s cohesive, yet eclectic style; at the beginning of Little Faith, there’s a section of white noise-ish sounds which are reminiscent of Radiohead, before the song folds into the album’s sad, reflective lyrics and sound. Runaway has an almost folkish Bob Dylan-esque sound, as lead singer Berninger drawls “I won’t be no runaway, cause I won’t run.”

Another track I love, Lemonworld, begins with Berninger sadly singing, “So happy I was invited, give me a reason to get out of the city.”  The album is a portrait of sadness, yet in the music and even sometimes in the fantastic songwriting, there is a slice of hope present. In my opinion, there is no better recent album that High Violet to satisfy my love of well-crafted, elegant songs. I give it a 7.6/10.