Listening to The National can be exhausting.
It’s not that they’re a bad band; far from it. It’s because they are so impossibly, crushingly sad.
The Brooklyn-via-Cincinnati fivesome — who will play the Orpheum on July 31 — has garnered massive critical acclaim for their baroque brand of post-punk, and their latest album, 2017’s Sleep Well Beast, won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.
The National’s lyrics find the inherent sadness in pretty much everything. Even their most upbeat songs, like “Mistaken for Strangers” and “Graceless,” still manage to bum you out. Maybe it’s the melancholically precise nature of the lyrics, or maybe it’s frontman Matt Berninger’s vacant baritone, but The National’s songs cut deep. All of them.
So the following isn’t a definitive collection of the saddest of The National’s songs, because finding those would be impossible. Instead, these are what I find to be a few especially sad ones. And if you’re going to be seeing The National live, it’s probably best to get those tear ducts in shape, lest you find yourself ugly-crying in front of one of the greatest American bands going today.
“About Today”
Again, there’s really no way to pick the saddest The National song — but if you absolutely had to, “About Today” would be a contender. From their 2004 EP Cherry Tree, it tells the story of a relationship in freefall. Built around a galloping drum beat, the song finds Matt Berninger’s narrator realizing that he too is contributing to the growing distance between he and his lover, simultaneously resigned and desperate to the end. It’s also a staple of the band’s live sets, so be prepared to get dust in your eye on July 31.
“Afraid of Everyone”
One of the highlights of The National’s 2010 masterpiece High Violet, “Afraid of Everyone” can at times sound like a paranoid cry for help. Berninger’s vocals seem more panicked than usual, especially when delivering the song’s refrain: “I don’t have the drugs to sort this out.” It gives the feeling of a nervous breakdown, which can often be quite sad and hopeless. But “Afraid of Everyone” does give a nod to a silver lining — for all of its slow-burning paranoia, it does explode into a twitchy, twangy Aaron Dessner guitar solo.
“Exile Vilify”
“Exile Vilify” is a strange case, because it was created specifically for a video game. Though not a lighthearted game, Portal 2 is a hugely fun one, so its pairing with The National is a bit peculiar. “Exile Vilify” — which repeats the phrase “Does it trouble your mind the way you trouble mine?” — is another story of relationships failing in real time, and it features a jangly piano riff that ties it a bit closer to the game’s tone, but a closer listen features a self-loathing that I’ve often felt while playing Portal 2: “You’ve got sucker’s luck; have you given up?”
“I Need My Girl”
Unsurprisingly, this is one of The National’s most popular cuts. Berninger calls it one of his most “direct” songs, telling Under the Radar: “I wrote it about missing my wife and daughter. It’s pretty simple. It’s not about any other thing.” And the song is devastating; Berninger sings that he keeps feeling smaller, as anyone might if detached from a loving cornerstone in their life. But perhaps the reason it gets to me so much is this spectacular live version featuring Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry. Maybe it’s Mayberry’s pronounced Scottishness adding a bit of extra sadness, or maybe it’s just me having something of a schoolboy crush on her, but it kills me whenever I hear it.
“Santa Clara”
One of the hardest parts of adult life is watching your friends outgrow you. There’s a certain feeling of being left behind that never quite subsides, and a certain bitterness in your own heartfelt congratulations for their successes. At least, that’s what I took away from “Santa Clara,” the introspective confessional from 2008’s The Virginia EP. When Berninger sings “I don’t worry anymore, nothing like I did before,” it highlights the undercurrent of resignation that never quite goes away. You’re stoked that your friends are “cool happy genius heroes,” but you’re still pissed that you that you aren’t one too. Even if it is your own damn fault.
The National is performing with Lucy Dacus at the Orpheum Theater on Tuesday, July 31.
Comments