Top Albums of 2010: #3 and #4

January 18, 2011

#3) The National – High Violet [4AD; released 5/10/2010]

“I still owe money, to the money, to the money I owe”

“Bloodbuzz Ohio”

Growing up churched as I have, I’ve heard plenty of sermons that have had an impact on me, however, one of my favorites is a sermon I heard a couple times in college entitled “Ministry of the Mundane”. Without getting too preachy here, the sermon speaks to God’s presence in the smallest details in our lives and not just the huge events. (This sermon was used as a way to counter the huge Christian Revival events that pop up all over the place, especially the Bible Belt…but I digress.) What I loved about it is that it showed the significance of day to day events and the ability to get as much out of that as some huge “Look at me!” undertaking. Considering how much that speaks to me, it’s no wonder that The National have become one of my favorite bands, due to their “Music of the Mundane” as I shall forever now call it. The National sing about things that effect all of us, cause they have all been there too. Lead singer Matt Berninger used to work in a typical office job and those experiences have lead to his “blue collar” outlook on many of his tunes. It’s amazing what happens when you can relate to a band and what they’re singing about, and of course it doesn’t hurt that the music they write is damn good too. High Violet is the follow up to Boxer, my album of the year in 2007, and prior to Boxer The National had a tendency to release albums known as growers, meaning, you needed to put in the time in order for it to burrow under your skin. Boxer came along and was their most immediate release, but High Violet falls more into the “grower” category, and doesn’t suffer a single bit for it. There’s still the immediate pop songs such as “Bloodbuzz Ohio” and the Sufjan Stevens assisted “Afraid of Anyone”. However, also present are songs like “Sorrow” and “Little Faith” that are no less beautiful despite their lack of an obvious hook. What they do have though, is incredible and driving percussion, which is once again a great strength for the Brooklyn 5-piece. High Violet is the most mature release yet from this group, who as they age, have continually been able to find the influences to write their brooding anthems, something that must be easier said than done, because while writing about the mundane in our lives is not a groundbreaking idea, no one can seem to do it like The National.

[“Bloodbuzz Ohio” – High Violet]

#4) Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me [ Drag City; released 2/23/2010]

“Be at peace, baby, and be gone.”

“Baby Birch”

Listening to Joanna Newsom’s epic 2006 release Ys, you could sense what an accomplishment it was and that it certainly deserved to be considered one of the best releases that year, however it wasn’t an album that was easy to come back to. Consisting of only 5 tracks, Ys still clocked in at just under an hour thanks to its swirling songs that hovered around 10 minutes long. It truly was an album that worked best as one piece of art, basically a symphony expressed in 5 movements. There really was no where to jump in, and as brilliant as it was, it was an exhausting and overwhelming listen that took some effort. This is why when news broke that Newsom’s follow up album would actually be a triple album with over 2 hours of music, expectations were understandably reserved. However, with Have One On Me, Newsom took everything that made Ys an ambitious success and broke it into little pieces spread throughout 18 songs that the listener can drop in and listen for a while and not feel like he or she is missing any context. There are still plenty of lengthy tracks that harken back to Ys, such as the title track and “Kingfisher”, but for everyone of those, there’s a track like “Baby Birch” that, while sitting at almost 10 minutes long, goes by like a pop song thanks to it’s dearth of great moments spread throughout. Newsom’s patented harp playing and squeaky voice are still the prevalent feature of Have One On Me, as they should be, but also on display is her inspired piano playing, most notably on “Good Intentions Paving Co” and “Soft as Chalk” which give another glimpse into the many talents Newsom encompasses. Thanks to a renewed focus on song-structure, Have One On Me is a much more accessible release for Newsom, but one that doesn’t sacrifice the scope of her compositions. It almost comes across as what her greatest hits collection would sound like, accentuating all the unique preciousness, confidence, and lyrical ability that sets her apart from all other singer-songwriters.

[“Soft as Chalk” – Have One On Me]

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Posted by Hawkins

The National – High Violet

May 14, 2010

In my write up for my pick of 2007’s album of the year, I remarked that “no album grabs you by the heart and hits you in the gut like The National’s Boxer.”  Three years later, I may have to re-phrase that to say no band grabs you by the heart and hits you in the gut as The National, because with High Violet, The National have once again created an album full of haunting anthems that burrow beneath your skin and become implanted in your every thought.  No band does somber, yet somehow not depressing, like Brooklyn’s The National.  There is a subtle bit of hope in all of their tunes that gives it a sense of majesty that really can’t be matched by any band.  It’s an accomplishment that is truly remarkable and probably doesn’t get the credit deserves, but with High Violet, the band’s achievements are becoming harder and harder to ignore.

Much like Boxer, The National use High Violet to tackle such themes of urban alienation and other concerns of the middle class as those day to day tasks become mundane and fears of a life wasted start to creep into one’s mind.  However, whereas Boxer‘s subject matter tended towards uncertainty during a transition period, High Violet is more concerned about the after effects of the transition and trying to find the vibrant colors in what may seem like a dull colorless existence (I mean, just look at the cover art.)

Musically, High Violet isn’t breaking any new ground for the group, but it does refine and improve on all the band’s strengths.  Matt Berninger still doesn’t encompass enough of a range to be considered a great singer, but his baritone vocals remain a perfect fit for the moody music that backs him up.  Only Berninger could pack a sadness into a string of “doo doo doo”s like he does on “Lemonworld”, and the vulnerability in his voice makes it seem like there’s as much being said in those short fillers than most bands try to say on a complete album.  But with any National album, it’s those two set of brothers behind Berninger that take the band to it’s level of immense grandeur.  As usual, this starts with the rhythm section and drummer Bryan Devendorf.  While poor or uninspired drumming doesn’t necessarily kill a song, used effectively it can absolutely take it to new levels and The National have perfected that with Devendorf’s driving percussion.  Other than Bernigner’s voice, there is probably not a more distinctive part of The National’s sound than it’s drumming, and it’s done in such a subtle way that it doesn’t overbear the rest of the music one bit.  It’s truly mesmerizing how well these five guys work as a quintet.

The album’s most triumphant moments comes from the Sufjan Stevens assisted “Afraid of Anyone” and first single “Bloodbuzz Ohio”, which both rival anything the group has ever done.  They’re the most immediate and memorable songs on an album full of intricate compositions that take a little more effort from the listener to appreciate, but don’t sacrifice any of their depth.  It’s not all perfect, however, and unfortunately the flaws show up on the bookends of the disc.  Opening track “Terrible Love” is a wonderful song and after being debuted on Jimmy Fallon, was thought of to be one of the album highlights, but for some reason the band ravished the song with questionable production.  For a band known for its precise songwriting and meticulousness during the production process, there’s no doubt this was done on purpose.  But intentional or not, why they decided to take such a promising song and muck it up with muddy production is beyond me.  Likewise, while “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks” is a fine song, it feels unnecessarily tacked on to the end.  The album would have been fine being capped off at 10 tracks and having “England” close it out.  But when my biggest quibbles are production techniques and song placement, it’s clear that I’m grasping for straws when trying to find the album’s imperfections.

High Violet is another masterful release from this group of unassuming sorrowful rockers, their third such masterpiece in a row.  While Boxer one upped its predecessor Alligator, it’s hard to say if High Violet has done the same to Boxer.  But when your predecessor was one of the best albums of the last decade, merely matching up to it is an accomplishment of its own and I have no qualms saying High Violet has done at least that.

[“Bloodbuzz Ohio” – High Violet]

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Posted by Hawkins