The National is one of the few band’s that got popular in the 2000s and didn’t go out of fashion in the 2010s. Even indie giants like The Killers have gotten a little stale this decade. The National, on the other hand, seem to have gotten genuinely better and more exciting as they have gotten older and time has moved on.

The new record is surprisingly experimental and daring. The track opener “You Had Your Soul With You” is playful and melodic while the lyrics are somber. Matt Berninger sings: “I have ordered to my heart every word I’ve said / You have no idea how hard I died when you left.” The rest of the album follows in the same suit.

“Oblivions” is tender and moving. It is not a poppy hit about young love but a more complex and thoughtful deliberation on a failing adult relationship. The track is a hidden gem between the more generic indie tracks like “Rylan.” At 63 minutes long, it is no wonder that some of the tracks are a little disappointing. Those that are good though are quite memorable.

“The Pull of You” is experimental and is a reminder of why The National have been dubbed as the “American Radiohead.” The strange sci-fi noises and overlapping melodies do indeed pull us in, as the track suggests. “Her Father In The Pool” is also intriguing and plays with the choral sounds which have been popular in 2019. The track is just one minute in length but acts as an interlude between the first and second half of the album.

“Where Is Her Head?” therefore acts as a second opening track and sucks us back in before we can get bored. The second half of the record is arguably weaker than the first but there are still some tunes. “Hairpin Turns” for example, has a real groove to it and the album closer “Lightyear” is quite powerful.

As far as eighth studio albums go, I am Easy To Find is a pretty decent attempt at staying relevant. The National still seems to be improving and obviously have plenty more to offer. What they offered today is a melodically interesting album with some genuine emotional depth.

4/5

The post The National “I Am Easy To Find”: Easy to Get Into appeared first on Hot Pop Today.

This spectacular 24-minute clip stars Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander, and it was directed by critically acclaimed filmmaker Mike Mills. He received the stems of new songs from band members, who encouraged him to experiment and create his own versions to score this film.

“The album then features different versions of these same seven songs – and nine new songs which sometimes refer to the themes, texts, ideas from the film but are their own work, their own piece of art,” explained Mills in an official statement.

He previously described the album and short film as “playfully hostile siblings that love to steal from each other.” They may have a lot in common, but should be understood as two separate entities.

We’ll get to find out how different they actually are when I Am Easy to Find comes out on May 17.

The post The National Unveils Short Film “I Am Easy to Find” appeared first on Hot Pop Today.

The National also gave us the first taste of their new studio effort I Am Easy to Find. This album will drop the shelves on May 17, but first single titled “You Had Your Soul with You” is already here!

The band’s upcoming album will be released with a 24-minute short film of the same name, but band members made it clear these two project function as two separate entities and aren’t necessarily extensions of each other.

The National already dropped an atmospheric black and white trailer for this short. It was helmed by Mike Mills (20th Century Women, Beginners) and stars Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander.

“The two projects are, as Mills calls them, ‘Playfully hostile siblings that love to steal from each other.’ They share music and words and DNA and impulses and a vision about what it means to be human in 2019, but don’t necessarily need one another,” reads the statement released by the band.

The post The National Spill the Beans on New Album and Short Film appeared first on Hot Pop Today.

The National is one of the few band’s that got popular in the 2000s and didn’t go out of fashion in the 2010s. Even indie giants like The Killers have gotten a little stale this decade. The National, on the other hand, seem to have gotten genuinely better and more exciting as they have gotten older and time has moved on.

The new record is surprisingly experimental and daring. The track opener “You Had Your Soul With You” is playful and melodic while the lyrics are somber. Matt Berninger sings: “I have ordered to my heart every word I’ve said / You have no idea how hard I died when you left.” The rest of the album follows in the same suit.

“Oblivions” is tender and moving. It is not a poppy hit about young love but a more complex and thoughtful deliberation on a failing adult relationship. The track is a hidden gem between the more generic indie tracks like “Rylan.” At 63 minutes long, it is no wonder that some of the tracks are a little disappointing. Those that are good though are quite memorable.

“The Pull of You” is experimental and is a reminder of why The National have been dubbed as the “American Radiohead.” The strange sci-fi noises and overlapping melodies do indeed pull us in, as the track suggests. “Her Father In The Pool” is also intriguing and plays with the choral sounds which have been popular in 2019. The track is just one minute in length but acts as an interlude between the first and second half of the album.

“Where Is Her Head?” therefore acts as a second opening track and sucks us back in before we can get bored. The second half of the record is arguably weaker than the first but there are still some tunes. “Hairpin Turns” for example, has a real groove to it and the album closer “Lightyear” is quite powerful.

As far as eighth studio albums go, I am Easy To Find is a pretty decent attempt at staying relevant. The National still seems to be improving and obviously have plenty more to offer. What they offered today is a melodically interesting album with some genuine emotional depth.

4/5

The post The National “I Am Easy To Find”: Easy to Get Into appeared first on Hot Pop Today.

This spectacular 24-minute clip stars Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander, and it was directed by critically acclaimed filmmaker Mike Mills. He received the stems of new songs from band members, who encouraged him to experiment and create his own versions to score this film.

“The album then features different versions of these same seven songs – and nine new songs which sometimes refer to the themes, texts, ideas from the film but are their own work, their own piece of art,” explained Mills in an official statement.

He previously described the album and short film as “playfully hostile siblings that love to steal from each other.” They may have a lot in common, but should be understood as two separate entities.

We’ll get to find out how different they actually are when I Am Easy to Find comes out on May 17.

The post The National Unveils Short Film “I Am Easy to Find” appeared first on Hot Pop Today.

The National also gave us the first taste of their new studio effort I Am Easy to Find. This album will drop the shelves on May 17, but first single titled “You Had Your Soul with You” is already here!

The band’s upcoming album will be released with a 24-minute short film of the same name, but band members made it clear these two project function as two separate entities and aren’t necessarily extensions of each other.

The National already dropped an atmospheric black and white trailer for this short. It was helmed by Mike Mills (20th Century Women, Beginners) and stars Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander.

“The two projects are, as Mills calls them, ‘Playfully hostile siblings that love to steal from each other.’ They share music and words and DNA and impulses and a vision about what it means to be human in 2019, but don’t necessarily need one another,” reads the statement released by the band.

The post The National Spill the Beans on New Album and Short Film appeared first on Hot Pop Today.