The National - I Am Easy To Find (May 17, 2019) Album • Page 65

IAETF is very hit or miss, IMO. Some great songs, but definitely my least favorite album they’ve made since I started listening to this band.

 

SWB is easily my favorite post-Boxer record, and I Am Easy to Find is imo their best post-Boxer song. I don't find IAETF all that spotty outside of the interludes, which I'm not a fan of for the most part.

 

I think if IAETF was 10 tracks, it could’ve been their best album. As it is, i have it very low on the rankings. Some tracks i absolutely love, but then a lot of tracks i skip pretty much every time.

 

I randomly threw on IAETF a few days ago. Still think it’s my second or third favourite from them. It really amazes me how much they pushed their sound on the last two albums when they’ve been around so long and easily could have just settled into churning out more records like HV and TWFM for the rest of their career.

 

it's probably 2 or 3 for me.

boxer > this and TWFM tied

 

Sleep Well Beast is the national record that has grown the most for me. Wasn’t a fan when it came out but now it’s probably #3 for me

 

Yeah I like both HV and TWFM but man what a breath of fresh air SWB was after 2 albums that stick a little too close to the formula for my taste.

 

Sleep Well Beast is what got me into them, then I really loved IAETF a whole lot. haven’t given much else more than a casual listen.

 

High Violet, Boxer, Sleep Well Beast, very solid top 3.

 

high violet isn’t my least favorite of theirs but it kinda feels the most overrated

idk why. there’s a handful of incredible songs but as a whole it never clicked for me

 

string me up for this one but I much prefer IAETF to Beast. Alligator still king for me though

 

HV is their most immediate record and, IMO, immediacy isn’t what makes the National great. It’s just a little too loud and some of the songs are just a little too light...like overproduced sketches of what could have been great songs.

One comparison I always think of is Runaway and I Need My Girl. The former is repetitive and meandering and feels overly maudlin; the latter has more layers and, although it’s just as sappy/maudlin, feels brighter and more interesting because of the extra attention, confidence, and thought it received.

My theory is maybe 4AD put extra pressure on the band to capitalize on the expectations and anticipation they had built up with Alligator and Boxer. They did a really smart revert back to a more subtler presentation with TWFM, which had similar songs to HV but felt more self-assured and less intense.

I think SWB was on another level and their biggest “leap forward” since Boxer. I also think they sound more live and human than they have on any record, even though the songs themselves are a bit electronic and colder. I think the artistic choice to do explore a darker, sometimes sparse, sometimes slower color (even for them) had the natural effect of limiting its immediacy and getting some of their wider audience to skip it.

They said a while ago that the next album is supposed to be a rocker. If they can bring the SWB/IAETF thoughtfulness and skill to some louder, more energetic songs, maybe they’ll top SWB for me. Although I find Turtleneck to be a bit forced so we’ll see.

 

I think it’s strength is the lyrics, young Matt knucklehead swagger, and how awesome of a surprise and leap forward it was from their previous stuff when it came out. I think if people go to it after the fact, it can lose its specialness. It also never sounded that great recording/production wise to me. But it was awesome live when their set was mostly those tracks.

 

boxer
TWFM/SWB
alligator
high violet
SSFDL
IAETF
s/t

 

HV
Boxer
TWFM
IAETF
SWB
Alligator
SSFDL
S/T

 

Sleep Well Beast
High Violet
Trouble Will Find Me
Boxer
Alligator
I Am Easy to Find
Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers
Self Titled

Absolutely stunning discography. Sad Songs would be a lot of bands best record.

 

Boxer
Alligator
Sleep Well Beast
I Am Easy to Find
Trouble
Sad Songs
HV
s/t

 

Sleep Well Beast is my favorite. Something about the vibes just really do it for me and the length of it feels perfect. I love this band but most of their albums I feel like could be 2-3 tracks shorter.

 

High Violet
Boxer
Sleep Well Beast
Trouble Will Find Me
Alligator
I Am Easy to Find
Sad Songs
Self-Titled

 

Trouble Will Find Me
Alligator
Sleep Well Beast
Boxer
High Violet
I Am Easy to Find
Sad Songs
Self-Titled

 

boxer
trouble
violet
easy
alligator
sad
sleep
s/t

 

I think this is exactly mine.

 

Boxer
SWB
TWFM
Alligator
HV
SS
IAETF
S/t

 

TWFM
Boxer
Cherry Tree
SWB
IAETF
HV
Alligator
SS
S/T

 

TWFM
Alligator
Boxer
IAETF
HV
SWB
SSFDL
Self titled