BOXER - THE NATIONAL
For all the yelling, crashing of cymbals and wild mood swings that was 2005’s brilliant “Alligator,” the National’s newest album quietly muses on the passing craze, like a restrained, confused hangover after a Saturday night bender. It kicks off with the gorgeous piano-led “Fake Empire,” which then leads into the guttural New Wave noise of “Mistaken With Strangers.” Several of the album’s biggest rockers can be found on the first half, while “Start a War” and “Ada” are more subtle in approach, with horns, strings and accordion as decorations. Whirring guitar and piano parts enhance “Racing Like a Pro,” which builds but never releases. Singer Matt Berninger’s murmuring, stream-of-conscious narratives are delivered with convincing melodrama, with few clunkers. Each elaborate sigh, snare and sequence contributes to the album’s emotional whole.(Beggars Banquet Records) Billboard
