Review Summary: This is the National's breakthrough album, and I can understand why.
The National is composed of Matt Berninger on vocals, Scott Devendorf on bass, His brother Bryan On drums, as well as ANOTHER set of brothers, Aaron and Bryan Dessner on guitar(s). This is their breakthrough album.
Alligator starts out strong, with Secret Meeting and Karen, two of the best songs on the album. Secret Meeting has all the markings of a classic song by the National. It has interesting chord progression, a creative drumbeat that moves the song along, Berninger's wonderfully written and sung lyrics, and atmospheric guitars, keys, and strings, and bass. Karen, one of the best songs on the album, has a more prominent piano, a catchy chorus, and the lyrics that tell the story of a misogynist that comes to term with what he's been doing.
Lit Up and Looking For Astronauts are next. For Lit Up the Dessners (relatively) crank the distortion, and Bryan Devendorf's pounding drum beat give this song more of a upbeat feel. Looking For Astronauts starts out somewhat lackluster compared to the previous three songs, but gets really good towards the end.
Right after that is the slower Daughters Of The Soho Riots. Personally, I believe that this is one of The National's greatest examples of pure musicianship. This could have been a simple acoustic song and still have been awesome, but Bryan Devendorf puts some quiet, pulsating drums behind it, giving the song an interesting quality about it.
After that is Baby We'll Be Fine and Friend of Mine. At first, they were not really my favorite songs, but decent none the less. After a couple of listens, Baby We'll Be Fine's dogged ending of "I'm so sorry for everything" and unique rhythms, as well as Friend Of Mine's inherent catchiness pulled me in.
Val Jester is the" hump" song of the album. Situated in the middle of the track list, it holds the honor(?) of being the worst song on the album, but is still quite good. I usually don't skip the song.
The next three tracks are the heart of the album. One of Berningers' special talents as a singer is his ability to assume different attitudes for the subjects of his songs. on All The Wine, he sings with a swagger that fits the song perfectly, and the manic shouting of Abel makes you think the narrator has truly lost his mind.
On what is probably my favorite song off Alligator, The Geese Of Beverly Road, there is a short and simple guitar solo leading into a another brillant performance by the band, again being led by Bryan Devendorf. After that is City Middle, which is decent, and contains a lyric about someone "pissing in a sink,I think". However, City Middle is really only a set up for the complete aural explosion that is the final song, Mr. November. This is an upbeat,powerful song with great lyrics, a mindblowing chorus that begs to be shouted VERY loudly, and it finishes off a great album that I enjoyed immensely.
Pros
* Great Drums
* Great Vocals/lyrics
* excellent composition by the Dessners.
Cons
* Val Jester And City Middle are okay, but do not really live up to the rest of the record.
* Berninger has been noted for "humorous" lyrics. I didn't get that.
A-
