The National-Demons

I will be completely honest, when I first heard the new National song, I didn't enjoy it, at least as not immediately as I usually do for everything the band creates. However, this was at 4 o'clock in the morning, and lack of sleep can have negative effects on the brain, such as not realizing how gorgeous of a track named "Demons" can be.

I think The National are following a similar trend that The Walkmen use in crafting their newer albums; instead of trying to recreate the blitz and climax of their previous records, they instead create something lighter and moodier while still retaining their their bleak, whiskey soaked emotional intensity. "Demons" is deeply sparse, an obvious extension of the quiet intensity of High Violet. The heavy piano lines, bouncy drum work, and heavily manipulated guitar all swirl around Matt Berninger still stunningly thick vocals. "Demons" never reaches an apex, instead swirling around, the only noticeable shift being when the guitars being ever so more jagged and ring further. Rather, "Demons" sits in its sound, with only Berninger's dark and self-referential humor within the lyrics keeping the song afloat. But that tension that it rests on is the type of thing National songs are made out of.



Links:

The National's Website
Pre-order Trouble Will Find Me here, from 4AD