The National - I Am Easy To Find (May 17, 2019) Album • Page 30

top 5 National song

 

Rylan is almost always stuck in my head.

 

There are more than five songs on this record that I would call a top 5 national song.

 

I was only able to listen up to partway through track 12 "Dust Swirls In Strange Light" on my commute in today, and Boston traffic was HORRENDOUS so my attention was kind of divided even for that, but this album is something else. I really want to be able to sit with headphones on and close my eyes and just listen to this with no other distractions as soon as possible.

 

Ughhhhhh those last 45 seconds or so of the title track are perfect

 

weird that this is the best album ever made

 

Going to draw an unnecessary comparison but listening to this reminds me of when in rainbows came out

 

I’ve come around fully to Hairpin Turns and now Roman Holiday is the only song I don’t totally love. And even that’s still a perfectly good National song.

 

the "there are police in the museum" makes it for me

 

lol I was thinking this was their In Rainbows too (although this is better than In Rainbows but the crystallisation of a sound feels similar)

 

how are they gonna pull any of this off live though? even if they invite any of the guest vocalists along I can't imagine some of these instrumentals are even possible to do on a tour

 

They are wizards?

 

They have performed the full thing live already so even if only, like, half of this is in regular rotation on the forthcoming tour they'll have some new songs in reserve too.

 

is there a studio version of Rylan out there or is this the first we've ever gotten?

 

The live version from KEXP had very good audio, that's where I got mine -->

 

Good enough for it to be a bonus track on the Japanese edition of the album, even.

 

Only a band that is as good as they are and on a streak like them can sit on a song as good as "Rylan" for ≈ 7 years. Song is so damn good.

 

Got to spin my LPs tonight and it genuinely felt like I was hearing it for the first time again. I was moved so many times listening, more than I have with any album in what feels like forever. Oblivions, The Pull of You Where Is Her Head, and Not In Kansas all overwhelmed to the verge of tears. I feel so lost simply by how in awe I am of this record. This is a band that could so easily play it safe or have taken a huge break between records, but instead they put out their most adventurous work yet less than two years after the previous record to hold that title. Even though this is essentially all I have listened to since the leak (minus one spin through Charly Bliss), the times where I really get to sit with it (instead of having it play while walking to class, taking public transit, studying) still cut so deep. I know it's early, but with every listen I inch closer to thinking this is somehow their best record yet.

 

Exactly my feelings

 

"It's the way that you're gonna stop needing to tell me you want me as much as I want you to"

:(((

 

Just started my first listen, lets goooo

 

I was flipping through some of the Special Evening setlists and Phoebe Bridgers did "Where Is Her Head" with them in L.A.???? I need that in my life.

 

Okay so these are just initial impressions, but after one listen there are parts of this I love ("Kansas" was a highlight, especially as someone who lived ~90 min south of Cincy for most of ages 13-24), but then also some parts that don't seem so great ("Dust" comes to mind). I think I might need to watch the film and then return to the album again.

Here's a take I'm ready to commit to though: "Light Years" is the best song to close a National album since at least "Vanderlyle" and maybe since "Mr. November."

 

now that's a take.

Also I think "Rylan" might be their greatest song, period. Everything that can possibly be great about the National is in that one studio recording - Kate Stables' strange robotic monotone actually makes the song even better.

 

Super excited to hear this, been holding off. Stereogum review (whilst positive) tampered my expectations. Especially because I enjoyed Sleep Well Beast less than their previous records by quite a margin.
But everyone's reactions in here have me pumped again!