strangely that description resonates with this album quite well for me. The cold drift of a relationship is much like a voyage, in the end is it actually worth it ? You can take it because IM not gonna take it.

Album Rating: 2.5

It's like they made SWB while out in the desert, and each album since has been the listening equivalent to drinking that album's urine, where each cycle results in less and less nutrients and water to offset the toxic chemicals and shit my kidney has to process.

Album Rating: 2.5

for what its worth there's also a two page preface by the author(?) explaining the idea for the story originated from some sort of ghost story contest the author partook in with her friends around a campfire, with frankenstein being the only one to actually be completed? could very well be referring to that instead. this book has like three different "starts" it feels like lmao

Dang I thought this band was finally resigning not rowbro

The National Doesn’t Make Real Music and their fans finally see why on this album

Hip-Hop (17%)

The National 0% music

Album Rating: 3.5

Another underrated Natty album, oh well

Album Rating: 2.0

pour one out for the National, the most famously underrated indie band of all time

Album Rating: 3.5

Salud

Lovely stuff Rowan. All the best!

Based on interviews it seems they had to really power through depression/writers block to make this and it shows, not in a good way tho. As depressing as Sleep Well Beast was it had way more melody and energy than this.

Album Rating: 3.3

My track ranking after four listens:



1. Once Upon A Poolside-lovely opener, definitely my favorite song here

2. Send For Me-grown on me hard with repeated listens, not one of their better closers but great

3. Eucalyptus-pretty great tune, would be on the weaker half of most of their other albums though

4. This Isn't Helping

5. Grease In Your Hair

6. New Order T-Shirt

7. Alien

8. Your Mind Is Not Your Friend

9. Tropic Morning News

10. Ice Machines

11. The Alcott

Album Rating: 2.9

"pour one out for the National, the most famously underrated indie band of all time"

lmaooo

Album Rating: 3.0

Wake up The National! Death Cab for Cutie is beating your ass right now! FIGHT BACK! DO SOMETHING!

Album Rating: 3.6

I think Send For Me is beautiful : O

Album Rating: 3.3

Yeah, seems to be an unpopular opinion but very nice tune!

Album Rating: 2.0

yeah fwiw I don't understand the Send For Me hate either - lyrics aren't their "best" but have a rare sense of total frankness that hit me way harder than i was expecting at the end of this dearth of all impact

Album Rating: 2.5

I might be too stuck on reminiscence to IAETF t/t in that one (I guess it's really not all that close...) but idk, that song still just seems very weak to me. Opener is maybe growing on me too. Definitely think Side A is where it's at here, relatively speaking. As a whole the album does benefit from not being too long, thank God they didn't drag this out to the length of SWB/IAETF. Though I feel like the moment I listen to any 2003-2017 Natty album again my mild positives will drop back down.

I never thought I'd see a National album with such a low average