The National
Boxer
(Beggars Banquet)
So-called 'best kept secrets' in rock rarely wait until their fifth album before that status changes, yet the National have nevertheless been quietly culling plaudits for six years now. The Ohio-born, Brooklyn-based five piece recently supported the Arcade Fire in New York and rose spectacularly to the occasion, suggesting their aforementioned status is soon to change.
Indeed, Boxer ought to help engineer such a move. Lead singer Matt Berninger boasts an emotive baritone that elevates him way above other sensitive indie types, at times recalling Nick Cave, the Tinderstick's Stuart Staples and occasionally Leonard Cohen.
The music gently shimmers and sways, but what really shines are Bryan Devendorf's clattering drums on the occasions when they're released from the cage. Devendorf envelopes the softly extracted melodies and propels the more maudlin moments forward with all the intensity of U2's Larry Mullen. It's a signature which echoes Joy Division and reaps dividends on opener Fake Empire, Brainy and the brooding Squalor Victoria. If anything, the album could have done with more of such friction.
