The National – Trouble Will Find Me
Album number six is a worthy addition to The National's pristine oeuvre
The National have always chosen to polish rather than reinvent; to delve deeper, rather than jump ship. So as LP number six prepares to see the light of day, those hoping for a new wheel best look away now. The journey to Trouble Will Find Me is arguably the least dramatic the band has made yet. It’s less ornate than High Violet, but more dense, instrumentally.
It’s the least oblique Matt Berninger’s lyrics have ever been, with countless instantly gratifying couplets. “You are not the only one that sits awake until the wild feelings leave,” he sings to Jennifer – this record’s Karen – on Fireproof. Graceless chugs from indie standard to showstopper in the space of a single key change and it’s this power to subtly visit three different places on every song that makes Trouble... such a marvellous listen. But unlike the wonderfully shadowy outros of Boxer, these are well-lit porticos attached to stylish, stately manors: fantastic places to spend an hour of your life. [Finbarr Bermingham]