Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

Agree with Doof but Alligator and SWB round it out to a nice quintet

Album Rating: 5.0

Poor Sad Songs.



If the second half of that one was as good as the first it’d be not too far behind the others. As it is...

Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

I do need to revisit Sad Songs, it does have 3 Natty classics in “Cardinal Song”, “Available”, and “Lucky You” but I probably underrate the rest. “Slipping Husband” and “90-Mile Water Wall” are pretty great too.

Cherry Tree EP (if you pretend the last two tracks are bonus tracks) is right up there with the classic albums too imo.

Album Rating: 5.0

Cherry Tree is quality too agreed



'Thirsty' I also really like on Sad Songs.

Album Rating: 4.2

Sad Songs is underrated, kind of reminds me of El Vy in some ways.

Album Rating: 5.0

I remember this had a 3.8 average rating during the year of release, with most people saying it doesn't stand up to the previous three records. The critical reappraisal has been pleasing to see.

Album Rating: 5.0

This took a month or two for me as I needed to make sure it wasn't just an inferior rerun of 'High Violet'

Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

I’ve said it many a time but it took me 2 years - if you look back far enough you can see my revelation in real time in this very thread :D

Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

Oh shit it actually took even longer than I thought - it took 2 years to get to a 4.5 and a whole year after that to reach the 5 (for anyone who’s interested, my journey starts page 131 of this thread and I 5d it on page 157 in June 2016).

Album Rating: 4.5

I still don't think this stands up to the big 3 to be honest. It has some stuff I love (Sea of Love, This is the Last Time, Don't Swallow, Hard to Find), some stuff I find overrated (Graceless, Slipped, Pink Rabbits), and some of the only National songs I outright dislike (Heavenfaced, Fireproof)



Still probably a 8.5/10 and I do have a lot of memories with it but definitely not one of my favourites of theirs. It's weird, because I think that the whole band brings it on this but Berninger is kind of the weak link lyrically and vocally - then on Sleep Well Beast I think it's the other way around.

Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

I feel the almost exact opposite - this is maybe Matt’s best showcase ever whereas Sleep Well Beast was the perfect band album.

Album Rating: 5.0

Graceless, Slipped and Pink Rabbits are very strong



Fireproof is a track flow gem.



Heavenfaced is half an incredible song. But only half of one sadly.

Album Rating: 4.5

I find a lot of this just blah miserable whereas even the quiet parts of Sleep Well Beast had a really lovely sentiment (although I've been in a live-in relationship for 5 and a half years so I might just be biased towards them). This came out after I had basically driven High Violet completely into the ground and I think it struck as an even more bummerific version of that record.



The songwriting on here is tighter and stronger than SWB and it doesn't have the weird winding electronic flourishes - I do think it's a better record. It's musically gorgeous for the most part. But I find the lyrics on SWB to be a lot more striking and less mopey.

Album Rating: 4.0

Pink Rabbits has always fallen a little flat with me, not sure I agree with some of the others although I can sympathise with the general point.

Album Rating: 4.5

It occurred to me also that when "Demons" was the first single I thought that they had just totally decide to double-down on the stereotypes about them and fully embrace being the sad rich dad band.

Album Rating: 4.0

‘Sad rich dad band’, lol.

It’s just dawned on me that I’m none of those things, well maybe sad idk, haha.

Album Rating: 5.0

The lyrics in the opening verse of Demons are singalong glorious though - sad dad introspective or not, they just belong

Album Rating: 4.5

A massive portion on this album is so emotionally resonate it just about beckons the tears the whole way through.

Album Rating: 4.5

demons might their best song lyrically

Album Rating: 5.0

Pangea - it really is up there lyrically, underrated track tbh



Top 20 National tune for me