Album Review: The National - Trouble Will Find Me

Here it is, Trouble Will Find Me. My most anticipated and indeed one of the most anticipated albums of the year. The album was never actually planned as such, as the band were planning to have a four year break after the breakthrough commercial success of High Violet which placed The National near the top of the old guard of indie rock - this record however truly establishes them as at the top of their game, that very few bands can compete with. The relaxed composition of this album doesn't exactly break the mold of The National's style but refines it, showing a band slightly less ill at ease with their success. Having said that, the old insecurities still remain as Matt sings of the skeletons beneath his skin and the the trials of life.


For fans of: The Antlers / Sharon Van Etten / Interpol / St Vincent / Arcade Fire

This album in tradition with other National albums is a grower, you plug away at it and discover new aspects, melodies of the songs that resonate musically and emotionally the more you listen and before long are buried in the back of your head; there are no cheap singles or chart monsters that are separated by filler, this is start to finish the prime example of a great album.

The album starts with a good indication of what is to follow; I Should Live In Salt, contains Matt's  vocals straying higher than he has before and feels relaxed, sonically rich and lyrically more personal. On the subject of the album's lyrics, although they are not the best Matt has written, such as those on High Violet and Alligator and Boxer, they are certainly more personal and indeed more relatable - something the band is often targeted on, by writing about the day to day trials of middle aged, middle class men; however the lyrics can resonate with anyone and so often you can find a line that just captures a certain moment in your life then your own words never could. Here Matt's writing is at its peak in songs such as Pink Rabbits, Don't Swallow The Cap and This is The Last Time.

Similarly the vocal melodies are not as insatiably catchy as in High Violet but have a much greater variety such as coupling Matt's vocals with those of Annie Clark and Sharon Van Etten and the mass vocals of Sea Of Love which capture and energy not felt since tracks such as Abel or Mr November on Alligator. The versatility of Matt's own vocals is also tested more than in previous albums, showing its not just 'more of the same'; with his deepest rich baritone of Demons to the floating higher vocals of Pink Rabbits.

This album is all about subtlety, the overall timbre and feel of the record is a rich, dense and lush sound which seamlessly integrates electronic elements such as synths and drum machines with the natural elements of acoustic accounts and the intricate drumming of Bryan Devendorf. These lush soundscapes are best seen on the comparatively stripped down tracks of Slipped and the album's outro Hard To Find. The subtlety continues in the small changes to tracks that just lift them into something more interesting and compelling; for example the 7/4 time signature of Demons, the up tempo shift in Humiliation and also the mini outro of This Is Not The Last Time.

Many of these songs also draw from much of The National's previous work. For example; Fireproof could easily be on Boxer, This Is The Last Time has echoes of Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers, Sea of Love has a big Alligator vibe and energy to it, and Pink Rabbits could sit among the best of High Violet. This gives the album not quite a compilation feel but one that makes this album possibly the most self-assured and coherent example of 'what are The National.'

Its clear this album is very good, not only does it have the trademark gravitas and class that The National have brought to their last three albums, its is still accessible to all National fans and indeed anyone who has just discovered them. This is not boring, middle aged man music but a down to earth, rivetting, intimate and at moments even sublimely profound collection of songs that are some of the best anyone could hope to hear.

What is perhaps most startling is that the National seem to be a band that can do no wrong, after the slightly lackluster debut, every album since has been very good, the last four albums of Alligator, Boxer, High Violet and Trouble Will Find Me have been exceptional, the antithesis of one hit-wonder indie bands and pop acts at the mercy of the music press. This album is a refinement of everything The National have done so far, drawing upon aspects of all of their best works to create an album which although admittedly is not their best album, it does not need to be anything groundbreaking and showcases exactly why the band is one of the best indie-rock bands of the 21st Century and how there is no one close to matching the consistently brilliant calibre of music that they do.

9/10

Key tracks: Don't Swallow The Cap // Pink Rabbits // Sea Of Love // Graceless

(To download: right click link > save link as > save MP3 to computer)




The National are also playing venues in the UK for touring the album. I managed to get tickets for the Manchester gig at the 02 Apollo which sold out in about 20 minutes! There are still a few tickets left for the London shows and are certainly worth the money. I will also do a review of the gig in Manchester in November.

Musings: Provocative Songs

Its that time of year again, that odd time when the long nights are slowly rolling back but winter still has a firm grip over you, an odd time which leaves many looking for comfort or solace in something. For some they find it in other people, family, friends, loved ones. For others things like art or photography. But for me I find it in my iTunes. The kind of songs that make you feel something beyond a catchy riff or a hum-able tune, songs that stir the emotions and memories, comfortable and uncomfortable ones. These aren't necessarily sad songs, but rather fulfilling ones, an intricate mix of the careful poetry of the lyrics and the music itself, which can stretch from vast soundscapes to one man and his guitar. Any song that can make someone feel something like that deserves a good amount of credit, and as a musician and lyricist, if I can ever make anyone experience anywhere similar emotions from a piece of work that I've helped create then it'll be a job very well done.

Quite often these songs find themselves on the end of albums, a closing statement of the work, and quite often a chance for the artist to bear some of their soul to whoever happens to be listening, something that artists do not get enough credit for in my opinion. Here are a few of my favourite provocative 'album closers':

re:Stacks - Bon Iver
Epilogue - The Antlers
Leave Me Alone - New Order
Cymbal Rush - Thom Yorke
Vessels - Tall Ships

Many of these type of songs also find themselves further back into their albums, and are no less as emotional and capable of raising the hairs on the back of your neck. There are dozens of these songs in my music collection but these are just a few of the ones that have been playing in my room of late:

Surprise Ice - Kings Of Convenience
Lippy Kids - Elbow
Woman When I've Raised Hell - Josh T. Pearson
About Today - The National
Champagne Year - St Vincent
Love Is All - The Tallest Man On Earth

Enjoy.

These next few days should also see a flurry of reviews coming soon, including EPs from Test Transmission and Ghost Capsules, as well as Foals' highly anticipated new album 'Holy Fire'.

Mason

Album Review: Sharon Van Etten - Tramp

I first saw Sharon Van Etten in May of last year at Brudenell Social Club in Leeds (pictures above) and was really blown away by the raw sincerity and emotion that she put into her songs. Wanting to know if any of this translated into the recorded version of the album she was touring, I got her album from the merch stall at the back and waited to see if she'd come to the stall and sign it, sadly to no avail. However on the upside her album did very much mirror what I'd heard live, and I always feel the true test of how good an album is, is how well it is translated or changed for the road. This album also topped my albums of 2012 and this review should just about highlight why.



This is Sharon's third album and is far more accomplished and assured than either 'Because I was in Love' or 'Epic' and most people would agree its a step forward. This album is also heavy on collaborations  first and foremost is Aaron Dessner from The National who features on the album and also produced it at his garage studio, giving the album a semi-low-fi feel that suits it far more than any glossy over-production ever could. Other features include Beirut's Zach Condon, Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner and the drummer form The Walkmen. Far from giving the album a disjointed feel, all the collaborations not only add something different to every song and almost give the songs some assurance, a bit like friends helping Sharon through the process.

The album starts with three relatively rocky songs by this album's standards, Warsaw, Serpents and Give Out. All three are very solid songs, 'Serpents' providing a good lead single while 'Give Out' is one of my personal favourites from the album, however afterwards the album looses this assurity. It meanders, drifts and looses the structure and convictions of the earlier songs, but this is what makes the album great, the lack of the conviction and rigid structure, reliance on riffs or big choruses show how genuine some of the songs are. On the subject of how genuine the songs are, Sharon seems to tread the thin line between bluntness and artistic licence in her songs very well, songs such as  'Leonard' 'I'm Wrong' and 'Joke Or Lie' are obviously very dear to her, and it shows in the lyrics. The song 'We Are Fine' is particularly strong as it talks about a panic attack that she had, someone who can put so much of her soul into an album and then call it 'Tramp' is someone with guts, and someone to be respected. Each song on this album paints the picture of a destructive relationship, all the subtleties of the emotions perfectly documented, a whole album dedicated to one break up really shows the power of human emotions, and makes the subject matter unable to be dismissed as trivial in any way.

Musically, the album is a different story. It can be sparse at times, almost in danger of staying into blandness  but in my opinion, being just on the right side. This almost hollow feeling to some songs doesn't ruin it, the vocals and lyrics are the focal point and rightly so and more than carry the album. This album isn't perfect, nothing really is, but I don't think it's meant to be, this album is self-help, the chance to let someone lick their wounds and voice their grief and anger to the world, that deserves credit to bare your soul this openly to critical scrutiny, I doubt this, or any other review will change how Sharon Van Etten feels about her music.

9/10

Mason

2012/2013 Crossover

I thought with it being a new year and all this'd be a great time to do a nice end of year review of how last year was for music and for the band, as well as looking ahead to what the next year holds both for the band and in terms of new releases and bands to watch. (right-click and 'save target as' for mp3)

2012

Last year for the band was a little tough, line-up changes, cancelled shows and a forever delayed EP seemed to be the list of never ending woe that nearly all new young bands experience when starting out. But towards the latter half of the year with a new drummer in tow, new songs, a new drive to make the most of the coming year and now under the wing of a mentoring scheme by MAS records has given us a lot to be grinning about. And to top off the year nicely, our return to live performances after far too long - see here

As for music in general, it was a solid year, nothing amazing, a few good albums and some duff ones but on the whole nothing to sniff too much at. Here's some of my highlights and low points of the musical year:

My Top 5 Albums of 2012

1) Sharon Van Etten - Tramp - (review soon)

The third album from the American singer-songwriter and by far her boldest and most assured yet finding her worldwide acclaim. The album is somewhat of an acquired taste, with stripped-down soul-bearing honesty teetering on the edge blandness musically. Its a kind of genius that isn't immediately obvious, but its there. 

Sharon Van Etten - Serpents (mp3) - The lead single from the album.

2) Alt-J - An Awesome Wave

The début album from the local boys from Leeds, something different, interesting and most importantly, very, very good. Worthy winner of the Mercury Prize, lets hope they don't suffer from its curse and we never hear from them again...

Alt-J - Fitzpleasure (mp3) - wob wob wob

3) Godspeed You! Black Emperor - 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!

Post-rock masters return with this stunning epic and also my first listen to GYBE (as they shall hence be know) but very very impressive. Its grand, sweeping, dynamically brilliant and a marvel of music and archetypal of the genre.

BYBE - Mladic (mp3) - the 20 minute opener, you're best listening to the whole album though, its not really an album for picking tracks.


4) Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (III)

I must admit a bit of a change of heart here, after what was one of my favourite albums of all time (CC II) I expected more of the same, especially after 'Plague' was announced. It was different and has taken a lot of time to appreciate fully, but in retrospect it is a much grittier and mature sound, but still brilliant.

Crystal Castles - Insulin (mp3) - Massive, glitchy and destructive.

5) Tall Ships - Everything Touching

I reviewed this album a short while ago and was mightily impressed and is only one of two débuts in my top 5. To see the review in full see here

Tall Ships - Gallop (mp3) - The lead single from the album and a thumper of a tune.






Honourable mention: Plan B - Ill Manors: A brilliant protest album accompanying a gritty and visceral début film from Ben Drew. Its brilliant to see musicians airing the issues that people see around them with the new found voice and stage they have been given - BBC 1XTRA Interview

Track Of The Year: Grimes - Genesis (mp3): Bloody brilliant ethereal indie synth pop.

Worst Album of the Year: Mumford & Sons - Babel: Shite.

2013

For a new band a new year is always a good time to think 'fresh start'. Not for us, its pretty much business as usual in order to get our EP out (we're sure it'll happen one day..). We've only come to the conclusion that it can only get better, more gigs, more songs, more people.

New albums to look out for in 2013

Next year looks to be a good year for music, with some big names releasing new material. Here are some of my anticipated releases:

Foals - Holy Fire: Third album from Foals and it sounds great so far, only three songs are out in the public domain but they are sounding very promising. Check out 'My Number (Live On Jools Holland)'

Atoms For Peace - Amok: Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich, Red Hot Chilli Pepper's Flea and REM's Joey Waronker release their début effort. Atoms For Peace - Default

Hurts - Exile: Hurts return with a follow-up to last years 'Happiness'. They say it will be darker than the first which is exciting and worrying at the same time. I really love a band that takes them selves too seriously, and Hurts do just that.

The National - TBC: My favourite band have a new album coming out this may, the live songs previewed from 'All Tomorrows Parties' event sound brilliant. I for one cannot wait.

Empire Of The Sun - TBC: A dodgy wait after 2008's breathtaking 'Walking on a Dream' left many wondering if there would ever be a follow-up. Thankfully everything seems to be on track for the next album to be released this year.

New bands to look out for in 2013

As ever, new bands are breaking and exiting a lot of people and as ever NME calls it a 'music revolution'... indeed. Anyway, here are the bands getting me exited this year, 'viva la revolution':

1) Chvrches: Ignoring the groovy 'V' and 'U' switch, Chvrches are a exciting new Glaswegian indie synth-pop trio that sound somewhere between 'M83' and 'Little Boots'. They also found their way in at 5th on BBC's 'Sound Of 2013' poll, in which better acts were in the long-list than short-list, odd. Chvrches - The Mother That We Share (mp3)

2) Palma Violets: NME's bitch at the moment but that does not stop them being one of the most exciting new bands around with a belter of a track that unsurprisingly won NME's track of the year: Palma Violets - Best of Friends (mp3)

3) Savages: Punk rock that's a throwback to Siouxsie and the Banshees and the brilliant music scene of the time. Nostalgia has always been a big plus points for some bands and this all-female group certainly have it. Savages - Husbands (mp3)

Mason.

The National - An appreciation

Welcome to our new blog, 'Villainous Folk'. Just to kick things off here's an appreciation of 'The National' that I did a while back:

The National - An appreciation

They’ve only recently become big in the UK but in the US they are massive, even backing Barack Obama on his presidential campaigns. I only really discovered them this year when I saw them live on the main stage at Latitude festival over the summer. 5 albums, each a different beast entirely, from folky beginnings of their debut, to the grand sweeping magnificence of their latest, each is something to be enjoyed.

It took me a while to get their sobered up indie rock but I really just haven’t stopped listening to them since then and I think they must be my favourite band at the moment. What really struck me with their songs is how they get so much atmosphere and purpose with the songs without the use of any real catchy riffs or instrumental brilliance, not to say that the musicianship is bad, in fact it is so delicate and intricate it often goes unnoticed.

But for me the thing i most love about them is the vocals and the lyrics. The vocals and especially the vocal melody give the structure and drive behind many of the songs and the voice is just amazing, the deep baritone Matt Berninger gives the songs their slightly darker side that sometimes comes right out with full-on rage fuelled verses. The lyrics are something I really admire about the band, they constantly churn out deep, sophisticated lyrics album after album and they never become cliched or tiresome.

However the album of theirs I want to share is their latest album, High Violet. This for me showcases The National as a band and gives the best example of what they do as well as every song on the album being brilliant in its own right. The vocal melodies in this album are brilliant and makes up for any missing riffs guitar-band lovers might want. Bloodbuzz Ohio gives the album a very strong single and leading song and the rest of the album builds around it and for really only the first time in my life I’ve found an album without one song being out of place.

These are a few songs of the National that I think showcase the band and High Violet:

• The National - Brainy. This song for me shows why I love The National so much, the drums, the voice, the guitars, the intricate musical accompaniments swirling in the background, perfection.

• The National - About Today. This song I only discovered recently on The National's 'Cherry Tree EP' and I'm so glad I did. Its simplicity and short brutal lyrics really struck a chord with me at the time, something this band seems to do all too often!

• The National - Available. One of the only national songs with a strong riff in it, the angry vocals at the end feel really genuine and cutting.

• The National - Cardinal Song. The lyrics are beautiful and so profound and make anything I write seem like cliched garbage. “Never tell the one you love that you do, save it for the deathbed when you know you kept her wanting you.”

• The National - Fake Empire. A beautifully constructed song and so grand and classy.

• The National - Mr November A rock song, the chorus beautiful, angry and heartfelt. "I won't fuck us over! I'm Mr November! I'm Mr November! I won't fuck us over!"

Songs from 'High Violet':

 

• The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio. For me is a culmination of everything the National have achieved and stand for.

• The National - Afraid of Everyone. This is probably my favourite song by The National, the lyrics are beautifully constructed, the rip of the guitar through the song is really felt and emotion just pours out of this song in bucketloads.

• The National and Bon Iver - Vandelyle Crybaby Geeks. The beautiful closing track of the album, full of sweeping brass, heartfelt lyrics and here joined onstage by the haunting voice of Justin Vernon from Bon Iver.

• Mumford and Sons - England. One of my other favourite bands Mumford and Sons have done a cover of a brilliant song off the album, England. Here’s the original as well. The National - England.

Anyway that’s why I love the National, I urge you to give them a listen and if you ever get the chance go and see them live as it was what really got me into music because of the way they made me feel and I wanted to do the same for other people.

By Mason Boycott-Owen