About The Cold Cut...

The musings of a teenage audiophile. Indie, Rock, Hip-Hop, Rap, Dance, Dubstep, Garage, Metal... music crosses all boundaries. The Cold Cut is devoted to giving you a taste of what's going on in music at the moment.

About Me

A 17 year old taking his first tentative steps into the world of blogging. In my first year, its been up and down, from the slow first months to a busy time around the one year anniversary.

Standing Ovation: The National

Christmas is great fun. Not only do you eat, drink and generally live the life of a slob, you get to spend it with family and friends. I had a great Christmas. There was much gluttony: roast dinners, turkey pies, turkey this, turkey that. Some great presents (a non red-ring of death Xbox 360- touch wood), books, and chocolate. And whilst I love my presents, sharing is the spirit.

I was very happy, then, when my Dad tentatively unwrapped a CD shaped parcel, which thankfully contained both 'Boxer' and 'Alligator', the last two albums by The National. He, and I, have both been very interested in this band since the days when they began to dominate the hype machine popular lists for days at a time. After a long wait, we would deservedly get a listen to what many people say are two of the best albums in a long, long time.

Firstly, 'Alligator', which has a reputation as a 'grower', a word oftern misconstrued as meaning 'difficult'. With both albums, what you put in dictates how much you get out of it. The band have already done the hard work in producing two deep, excellent albums. The question is, how much are willing to give to the albums?

The National- Looking For Astronauts

I gave 'Alligator' my full attention. And its great. People were justified in thinking that 'Boxer' might not match it. Unfortunately, they were all wrong:

Next 'Boxer'. Wow- if you have yet to hear it, the stories are true. It is that good. Even on opener, 'Fake Empire', you can sense the magic. Matt Berninger has a brilliant baritone, and its a fitting opening. Track two, 'Mistaken For Strangers', is amongst the best songs they've yet recorded, brooding and melancholy. Throughout the whole album there is always an overwhelming sense of intensity, maintained from start to finish. Bryan Devendorf, their drummer, is the hero, and for me at least, he makes this album. There is always a militaristic, measured style to his strokes, and his addition alone makes these songs into much more than they could have been.

They are a few other stand-outs: 'Ada', with Sufjan Stevens lending a hand on piano, also features a contribution from touring member Padma Newsome on horn. 'Slow Show' is scathing, but don't read too much into the lyrics (as many people do with 'The National).

The National- Mistaken For Strangers
The National- Slow Show

It's frustrating that I didn't have the opportunity to listen to 'Boxer' in time for my end of year list, as it would most certainly have placed in the top 10 (replacing what?- have a guess).

Ahh, but which is better? An important, but necessary, question to pose. I can answer almost without thinking; 'Boxer' is superior, in that the sounds produced are those of a band at the top of their game. The National are here to stay.

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