The National
by The National

Album Rating: 78.83
(946/12)

1.Beautiful Head. 81
2.Cold Girl Fever. 72
3.The Perfect Song. 81
4.American Mary. 90
5.Son. 76
6.Pay For Me. 64
7.Bitters & Absolut. 76
8.John's Star. 84
9.Watching You Well. 68
10.Theory Of The Crows. 83
11.29 Years. 85
12.Anna Freud. 86

From TheDarkOrb 07/16/2019 22:26 | #239736

While not nearly as complex, rich, or "good" as their later albums The National is still a solid debut album. There is a stripped down, dusty country vibe present on a number of tracks that makes this a great album to have on in the background during a hot lonely summer day.

From Repo 12/02/2017 13:26 | #202516

SLOW GROWTH

I was just being thorough. I had no intentions of reviewing this album. Zero. Zilch. Placing it in my Mellow Zone. I had heard it a half a dozen times in the past and my sense was that of many others - The National had not yet become THE National yet. They hadn’t found themselves. If they had just released this, they would have been forgotten. Probably not even worthy of the bargain bin since no one would even have had the foggiest idea who they were. A second or third tier indie rock band with alt country leanings. Nothing more.

But, I was trying to figure out that critical point. When The National became THE National. Survey says it’s Alligator. And they’re totally right. Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers is definitely still a transition album. And a really, really good one at that. They were right on the cusp of who they were set to become with next release the now modern classic, Alligator.

But as I said, I’m thorough. I wanted to give their debut one more chance. The album that no one talks about. My version of Make or Break Time you might say.

So I burnt it a couple of weeks ago. Placed it on a cd and loaded it up on my 6 cd changer in my car. And I need to mention a critical fact here. Without which this little discovery would likely never have happened.

My car is old. Like really old. So old it doesn’t even have an auxiliary input. I’ve tried to get the radio changed over the years, but it’s literally impossible since the radio is somehow built into the car’s security system or something. It mechanical so it’s way over my head. I’ve brought it to several people who always say “No Problem” which inevitably changes to “Big Problem” over the course of the day. So I’m stuck with cds. Which were NOT made for cars. At all. There a royal pain in the ass in a car. God I miss my tape deck. Cassettes. Now those knew how to behave on the road. lol.

So… where was I? Right. So I threw The National’s debut into my cd player two weeks ago. And it hasn’t left since. And there’s mighty fierce competition going on in that 6 cd changer of mine - Jansch, Buckley (Tim of course), Vampire Weekend, Haim, and of course my kids’ favorite fave The Trolls soundtrack. BUT, because it’s a 6 cd changer It’s ridiculously hard to change cds while driving. It literally takes about 10 seconds to eject and then load a different cd. I’m telling you - my car is like them hills out back. Except blacker. So there is a certain level of inertia to my listening habits. But, you know what? That’s turned out to be a good thing. And I’ve really gotten to know and understand certain albums because of it. Fallen in love with things that I otherwise would have glanced over. Never seen. So thank you, CD changer! Sorry I’ve tried to get rid of you so many times!

Grades: The National get a lot of shit for making the same album over & over again. But that’s bullshit. On these first two albums, they have a remarkably different sound except for Behringer’s distinctive baritone. The drums. The production. The arrangements. The atmosphere. That was yet to come. But these are two incredibly solid (Indie Rock > Alt Country ) albums. Fans of The National NEED to check them out. They BOTH deserve more respect than been’s paid in the past. They’re both slow growers that yield their pleasures more & more on repeated spins. “I Never Happened” from Sad Songs is a particular gem.

Music wise, there’s not much to talk about here. It’s nothing you haven’t heard before. It’s standard fare indie rock with alt country leanings. But it’s done well. Really, really well. And once they discovered their own sound (with some amazing help from some friends as I will talk about later), it’s no surprise really that they would become THE National.

The National: B-
Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers: B

Best Tracks: Cold Girl Fever, Son

From meruizh 04/25/2014 20:24 | #110075

This was definitely not the best start for the band who has grown as one of the best. But you can see some highlights every now and then in the album

They definitely got better with the years. This is pretty boring. Best song hands down to "beautiful head".

From RoundTheBend 07/13/2013 03:12 | #81320

B average album. I like the back up singing in this early stuff.

Sometimes I think Matt Berninger sounds awesome like Johnny Cash, and sometimes I think he sounds like a drunk loser. Wait... maybe there isn't a difference, except Johnny became an idol.