Before we start, here's a quick look at the rating system that we use here at The Dirtywhirl:
100 - Classic Album; One Of The Best Of All Time
99-90 - Exceptional Work; Rush Out And Get This
89-80 - Very, Very Good; You Should Still Go Out And Get This
79-70 - Not Bad At All; Might Actually Be Worth Your Time
69-60 - Has Its Moments But On The Whole... Meh
59-50 - Won't Make Your Ears Bleed; Won't Make You Dance, Either
49-0 - Don't Waste Your Time; You're Smarter Than This (Probably)
Now... onto the review:
The National | High Violet
Crafting one of the best albums of the past twenty years is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the feeling of creating an indelible work of art that will stand as a musical high water mark must be indescribable. The National did that with their 2007 breakthrough record, Boxer. The other side of that sword, though, is that you’re going to create impossibly high expectations for a follow up which is unfortunately the case with the band's latest, High Violet. From any other act an album like this would be revelatory. The problem is that The National have proven that they’re capable of better. Sonically, the Dessner brothers have created a similar aural texture as heard on past records so where does the fault lie, then? Why does High Violet fall slightly short of the band's potential? Sadly, it’s with singer Matt Berninger’s lyrics. Berninger has never been the most straightforward lyricist in music but he’s even more obtuse than usual on more than a few of High Violet’s tracks and frankly, that’s to their detriment. I’m not one to need to have things spelled out lyrically but when the imagery that’s presented is extremely abstract at best and silly at worst, it takes power away from the music. “We’ll play nuns versus priests until somebody wins,” (“A Little Faith); “I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees/ I never married, but Ohio don’t remember me,” (“Bloodbuzz, Ohio”); and perhaps the worst offense, “Vanderlyle crybaby cry/ Man, it’s all been forgiven, swans are a-swimmin’/ I’ll explain everything to the geeks;” (“Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks) are just a few of the inscrutable sobriquets tossed by Berninger on the record. Many times, as on “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks” (not only the record’s worst track but one of their worst overall – it's just ridiculous on so many levels), “Sorrow,” and “Lemon World,” the lyrics just kill dead any chance that the tracks would have had. Others, including “Conversation 16” (with its great textural instrumentation), “Runaway” (a track that feels tossed off but not necessarily in a bad way), and even the aforementioned “Bloodbuzz, Ohio” are able to overcome their clunky lyrics to affect something approaching respectability, while the opening “Terrible Love,” “Anyone’s Ghost,” and “Afraid Of Everyone” (the album’s best track that features Sufjan Stevens making a guest appearance for the second consecutive record and sees Berninger wailing “I don’t have the drugs to sort it out” and “In a way she’s swallowing my soul, soul, soul, soul”) are just straight triumphs. The album does close rather weakly and this could be a contributing factor in how it plays overall, but all of this is more than a little nitpicky because High Violet really is better than almost 80% of what’s been released so far this year. It’s the fucking National, fer chrissakes. It’s dark... it’s brooding... it’s what we want out of the band. While its faults are magnified due to the fact that this is a record by one of rock’s best bands, High Violet is still a very, very strong album and that speaks to the talent of The National in that they can overcome the obstacles presented in particular by the record’s lyrics to deliver such a solid (yet not spectacular) effort.
Standout Tracks: “Afraid Of Everyone;” “Terrible Love;” “Anyone’s Ghost;” “Bloodbuzz, Ohio;” “Conversation 16”
Dirty Rating: 84/100
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