The National » Boxer
I was flipping through my iTunes library yesterday looking for something to listen to that I hadn’t heard in a while and came across The National‘s 2007 release, Boxer. I’m sure I’ve had this for a little while now, but it’s received very little air time. The sound from track to track flows great making it another one of those albums that you can easily listen to from start to finish. I’d have to say my favorite track on the album is Ada. Another favorite is Start A War.
Their Wikipedia page says they’ve been influenced by Bruce Springsteen, which I can definitely hear in lead singer Matt Berninger’s voice. He has a similar sound of The Boss. There are both mellow and upbeat tracks on this album. Overall I’d give this album a B+. It’s good, but not totally great.
They have previous releases that I haven’t listened to; Alligator (2005), Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers (2003), and The National (2001). I’m going to try to get my hands on these and see if they’re as good as Boxer is. Definitely a band I’ll be adding to my daily rotation of played music.