“There’s something to be said about a band that never gets worse. You can point to any post-Beatles band and find a dip in quality someplace, but it’s hard to perform such a task when piecing through The National’s catalog—which has grown one album larger this week, upon the surprise release of Laugh Track. If you believe that Boxer or High Violet or even Trouble Will Find Me are the various apexes”
“The National's best album in ages, Laugh Track is authentic, organic and relatively raw”
“second album of the year feels like a fresh start”
“Lore and storytelling play an outsized role in every album The National release, and on their ninth album ‘First Two Pages of Frankenstein’, released in April, the narrative was more central than ever. Following their collaborations with Taylor Swift on her pandemic albums ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’, their profile had increased, even if the band dynamics felt “fragile” amidst life changes and front”
“The National’s second album of 2023 extends its predecessor’s subdued mood and reclusive purview.”
“They let the songs take them where they seemed to want to go, not steering the ship as much as they were content with drifting off to sea. Many (if not most!) of the songs here are perfectly nice, if a little sleepy.”
