Album Rating: 4.0

Yes, because comparing a band’s newest album to the one they released less than two years ago, the sessions from which several songs from this came, is dumb.

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

Ah, Boney got their first



I'm pleased people like this one, just like I'm always amazed there are people who think Hail to the Thief or King of Limbs are best Radiohead



Or Adore is the best Smashing Pumpkins



I like stuff like that, occasionally I'm that guy. Vitalogy is my fave Pearl Jam. Sure there are other examples of my perverse preferences.

Album Rating: 4.0

Ya know, it would’ve been nice to agree with Rowan on something for once. Oh well.

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

This is brilliant - I just asked the wife while listening to the title track on the new one what she thinks.



She said 'this is nice and relaxed actually, I could go to sleep to this'



That isn't actually a criticism, she likes falling asleep to music. But it is funny.

Album Rating: 4.0

Title track is one of the ones growing on me actually.



The National are one of my favorite speepytime bands, the wife knows her stuff.

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

I have a sleepytime mix for The National so I might move that one across...



...along with half the rest of the songs here hur hur hur (joke)



That tune has grown on me a tiny bit too - in that it is just very background-y and inoffensive but that at least gives it a listening niche and a bit of an atmosphere

Album Rating: 4.2

I mean a general analysis of a new one in the context of an album they released 2 years ago? sure, fine, even though SWB is basically the b-sides from this rather than the other way around. but "x song on IAETF doesn't stack up to y song on SWB, hence x song is bad" is one of the silliest forms of criticism I can think of



...Boney we used to agree on stuff. I think. those memories are hazy to me now... where did those days go

Album Rating: 4.0

Doof, it’s one of the ones that works better in the film too - mostly though I didn’t feel the music was that all incorporated. I’m too used to trying to pay attention to The National’s music/what Matt’s saying that it doesn’t work as background, especially when your constantly reading the little notes at the bottom.

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

Ok I'll bump this to a 2.5 to be friendly.



It's somewhere between a 2 and a 2.5. My bitterness, disappointment and anger is subsiding.



Won't go any higher than that though.

Album Rating: 4.0

Row, your whole “SWB is the b-sides” narrative makes no sense to me given the interviews and Q&As I’ve seen, all those strongly indicate to me that these are the b-sides, half the material was written after SWB.

Album Rating: 4.2

from what I understand the only material written after SWB is the brand-new stuff for this album. the half written before SWB was left off because they wanted a dreary, depressing album to coincide with Trump's election (and by god they succeeded with that). I'm not even saying this to dunk on that album it's just to my understanding it's literally the case that they sort of chiselled SWB out of the sessions for this and released it first

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

Glad to see the love for SWB t/t, one of their best.

It's clear that this is subpar if you compare it to everything they've done since Sad Songs, as it's a step down, but probably still gonna be one of the best albums of the year. There's a solid 35-45 minutes of excellence on here. Some of the experiments just didn't quite work, they needed to dial back on the female vocals in places, and change the sequencing.

I'm hoping over time some of the tracks reveal themselves to be classics but I'm not seeing it yet. I could see the potential for a few of them though.

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

Proof will be what they play live in five or six years time, as it is with most bands (if they're still touring...).



More songs from this I guess you could say this is the 'daddy' album



If they're only playing four or five songs from both put together - and three or four of them are 'System', 'Destroy You', 'Guilty Party', 'Day I Die', 'Nobody Else' or 'Turtleneck' then I'm sorry, I think that was the 'bigger release' of the two.



I just think with the sleepy nature of this plus the reliance of female vocals this album is going to stiff live a lot of the time, or songs will be dropped when they don't want an entourage of female singers travelling with them on tour.



I wouldn't say either album sounds like B-Sides - rather SWB was 'The Last of the Trad National Albums' with some experiments while this was an attempt at an 'un-trad-Nationall'y' bright new beginning.



I think half of SWB really lent itself to live performance, esp songs like System and Day I Die which are clearly much better performed live and allow for certain 'moments' live - look a double drummer! wow a blazing guitar solo!

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

Otherwise we have to wait to see what ends up on The National 'Best Of'...that will be strange, a 'best of' compilation for The National.

Album Rating: 4.0

Row, maybe you’ve seen different features than I have but all I’ve seen is that Sleep Well Beast was satisfactorily completed when Mike Mills came to them proposing a collaboration, they have him some unfinished cuts/outtakes which he built the film around and then they collaborated to write the rest of this. The whole identity of this album with the female vocals and everything is distinctly post-Sleep Well Beast. I realize some of the songs are older but that doesn’t mean Sleep Well Beast was a concession, it just means they had some songs they weren’t satisfied with. This is their Amnesiac/AMSP, for better or worse.

Album Rating: 2.0

You guys are making me want to reconsider my stance on SWB being a weak National release. I might do a reverse-chronological discog run when I’m done here.

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

These sound more like b-sides and random experiments than SWB to me. I'm not saying SWB is way better than this, both are of similar quality, but SWB just has stronger songwriting and memorability for me, at least for now. Like I said, this does hold its own and probably had almost as many highlights as SWB, but that one was more immediate and a nice palate cleanser with upping the energy and shaking things up after the sleepy TWFM.

Album Rating: 4.0

Hmm, I think “Quiet Light”, “Light Years”, and obviously “Rosey” have a chance of sticking around. Basically the ones that will work best without the female vocalists.



Sleep Well Beast live was incredible, there were definitely plenty of great live songs there.



I’m seeing them in October, I’m maybe more curious than excited. Glad I got to see them on SWB tour because I’m sure this tour will not be a “normal” National tour.

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

I'm glad I saw them on the SWB tour, b/c the setlist for this one is mostly this album and hardly any of their classics.

Quiet Light, Roman Holiday, Oblivions, Rylan, So Far So Fast, maybe Where Is Her Head are potential classics.

I can't emphasize enough how much better of an opener Quiet Light is than You Had Your Soul With You.

I like the t/t well enough, but I sort of agree with Doof that tracks 5-8 is a mess.

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

I think what doesn't bode well for this album live is the most propulsive track (Where is Her Head) REALLY needs the female vocals to work.



Half the songs on SWB nearly sent me to sleep when watching them performed live, esp Dark Side of the Gym despite there being guest female vocals - you could hear the audience shuffling, a thousand toilet breaks. Walk it Back and the t/t also made zero sense live, Destroy You wasn't much of an improvement.



This new album aligns more with the songs the elicited zero response from the audience so I'm not sure I'd want to catch this tour tbh



They are more at that stage like when I caught Lambchop recently or the Tindersticks at the Barbican - just do a sit down arty show with movie clips, etc. The material off this one and the less great live songs off SWB are so second rate compared to the band's classic live favourites it makes no sense mixing them in a trad live gig format. It's just sad and (noticeably) frustrates/bores the audience.