Why The National should be your new favourite band

When I first discovered The National back in 2008, I really didn’t know what I had on my hands. A pal at work had given me Boxer and Alligator on CD, but after burning them onto my iPod, I kinda forgot about them.

There they sat for 2 years, quietly biding their time, waiting for a random iPod shuffle of all 12,000 songs to play Fake Empire and drop them serendipitously onto my lap. It hit me immediately, ringing some distant bell deep within in that way only a brilliant song can. The softly trodden piano keys, Matt Berninger’s broken vocals, the way the track carefully gains momentum…I was sold.



Skip forward to July 2016 and I have the joyful prospect of seeing them headline Latitude Festival alongside The Maccabees and post-punk legends New Order; and as I scroll through their 6 album back catalogue, it reminds me why they are everything I love about indie-rock.

From fast-paced, thrashing rock numbers like Mr November or Abel to beautifully formed tales of lost-love in England or I Need My Girl, a buzzing emotion pours forth through every stroke of a guitar chord, beat of the drum and twang of bass. Their lyrics aren’t empty words, meaninglessly strung together to weave some remnants of a melody; no, they’re as blissfully tender as they pointedly sharp, coaxing a lingering warmth from the first note to the last. It’s bittersweet; tangling love, hurt and hopefulness together, in an ever rising wall of heart racing sound.



For me, they aren’t a “oh you know, if you’re that kinda mood” band. They transcend that; regardless of my mood, I find comfort within their music. Happiness. Sadness. Ecstasy. They never fail to strike a note with how I’m feeling at that particular moment and I can’t think of a better band to headline one of the UK’s best festivals this July.

We all have that artist. The National are mine and I’ll never be able to fully thank that old work mate for bringing them into my life.



Want to see The National headline Latitude Festival this week? Click HERE for more information and tickets.

Words: Matt Hamm
Follow Matt on Twitter:- @MattyMedia