Customer Reviews
Every bit as good as Boxer and Alligator - By: Collins End Music Club, 29 Mar 2008 
I explored the National's back catalogue because I enjoyed Alligator & Boxer so much. This album is truly excellent, & stands up well to their later work. I think one of the best things about the National's music is their amazing lyrics - complex, bittersweet, emotional without going anywhere near slushy. I thought this album was as accessible as Alligator & Boxer, so even if you're new to the National then give it a go.
By the way, they are great live. Nothing like I imagined from their albums - the lead singer is truly manic on stage. Catch them if you can.
Something for new fans to go and find - By: Lostintranslation, 18 May 2006 I heard about The National a couple of months ago by chance through the commercial success of their most recent album Alligator. It's a fantastic album & if you haven't heard of them I suggest that one first. Don't get me wrong though, I highly recommend this album also. I went out of my way to track down what is actuallly a longer back catalogue than I'm proud of admitting I missed first time around & I feel reallly happy I did.
This album is at moments stronger than the recent stoof, but not as refined & honed, often less confident & certainly slower in places. It's still the same prettyful double guitars with the harrowing & very affecting lyrics, it's a fantastic album, with a few unexpected twists as I found so completely affirming about Alligator.
I feel guilty in this bias, had I heard this album first it may well have affected me more than Alligator. Even so, this is a band that grows in my esteem the further I delve, with a criminallly overlooked talent which is only now starting to take off.
Overalll I'd suggest this as an almost certainly reliable purchase if you're into rawk or indie with affecting lyricism & a very distinctive sound, but it might be worth checking out the band's more recent stoof purely on the strength that it's more accessible on the first few listens, it's a purchase I still have on a good deal of the time though...
