Album Rating: 5.0
I think HV is the only National album with a clearly superior Side B
Alligator possibly too
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Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off
Sleep Well Beast and this one have pretty superior side Bs I’d say
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Album Rating: 5.0
This one’s even for me, maybe slight Side B bias.
SWB I’ve listened to the first four songs ten times more than the rest tbh, that evens out the Turtlehead factor. Also I think the ‘over produced’/ ‘big and bland’/‘unearned climax’ testing ground was Side B of SWB (Empire Line, Destroy You, even DSOTG a bit even if I still like that one)
I couldn’t do without any song on Side B of HV.
First half of Boxer is strongest, then second half of HV - for me anyway
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Album Rating: 4.5
DONT TELL ANYONE IM HERE
I GOT TYLENOL AND BEER
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I'll Still Destroy You is the best song on SWB by a considerable distance and arguably the most adventurous song they've done since Sad Songs - it has absolutely no business sitting in between a write-off list with nothing songs like Empire Line and DSOTG
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Album Rating: 4.5
This would be a perfect album if Fireproof and Heavenfaced were excised. They’re not bad tracks at all but they kind of kill momentum a bit.
High Violet is probably my least favourite of their “big” albums. Not sure why it doesn’t resonate with me like Boxer, Alligator, TFWM or SWB but I don’t go back to it much.
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Album Rating: 5.0
I find it all pomp and no substance :/
I’ll listen to it a bit in light of the fact they’ve sort of stayed in that style and bombed since - it could be the best song in the ‘busy production’ National sound
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Album Rating: 5.0
Butkuiss - starting at ‘Bloodbuzz’ for a while might help, dunno
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Album Rating: 5.0
Hmm, just listened - ‘Destroy You’ sounds like IAETF mixed with something from REM ‘Up’ to me, messy, duff vocal melodies and lyrics (Lemonworld-lite), unearned Radiohead climax
I sort of get it, it is experimental for them
Thought it bombed when I saw it performed live too
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Album Rating: 4.5
Oh, I’ve listened to HV enough to know all the songs by heart. Blood buzz is a definite highlight but I guess I just feel like HV trades off some of the sense of intimacy I love in its quest to turn near every song into a soaring arena anthem.
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Album Rating: 5.0
There’s a bit of that too, maybe less conversational yeah
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Best SWB track is ‘Guilty Party’ in a walk.
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Album Rating: 5.0
Guilty Party is a classic indeed, live version good too
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Guilty Party is a colossal snooze ngl
"Thought it bombed when I saw it performed live too"
this doesn't surprise me at all, 100% a studio track. strip it down to its songwriting bones and it's good-not-great tier for sure, defs wouldn't make my top 10 - but I don't get how you can hear that production (kinda the focus of the track?!) and put it on a plain with IAETF/REM. Radiohead have never used electronics for that kind of climactic effect either, barring Sit Down/Stand Up (one of their duds)
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Album Rating: 5.0
The production is a degree better than those comparisons but in terms of composition and impact it scores low for me. It’s still a better listen than 90% of what followed on the next two albums for sure
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Album Rating: 4.2
Guest Room and Ada are both amazing. Boxer and HV are easily their best and most consistent, with Alligator being near perfect and not far behind.
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Album Rating: 5.0
Alligator is only fifth best for me, hasn’t got many of my real favourites on there and is a bit all over the place.
As transitional pre stardom albums go it’s pre cool though
It was my entry point way back…though it was Boxer that made them one of my favourite bands it was so good
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yep, viewing Alligator/Cherry Tree/Sad Songs are a transitional pre-classic trilogy (with Boxer thru this as the real deal) always made way more sense to me than putting that one on a pedestal
"It was my entry point way back…though it was Boxer that made them one of my favourite bands it was so good"
and also this. Alligator whelmed me/killed my curiosity for 3 years and then final yr undergraduate depression got me into Boxer/HV/this/Beast and it was history
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Album Rating: 4.0
Alligator is by far their best and most interesting for me but maybe it’s cause I’m not depressed
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Album Rating: 4.0
like what on that album can actually compete with All The Wine or Geese or City Middle
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