Alligator
by The National

From Brad1770 08/18/2023 01:15 | #298669

Big National fan and this was my National Ah-Huh moment.Even though you could mount an argument for ‘Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers’, in reality ‘Alligator’ would begin one of modern music’s great consecutive album run for quality: ‘Aligator’ [2005] into ‘Boxer [2007] into ‘High Violet’[2010] into ‘Trouble Will Find Me’ [2013]. Think about that for a minute ? Ridiculous and hardly seems fair

Album Rating: 88.15
(1,146/13)

1. Secret Meeting. 89
2.Karen. 90
3.Lit Up. 91
4.Looking For Astronauts. 78
5.Daughters Of The Soho Riots. 77
6.Baby, We'll Be Fine. 77
7.Friend Of Mine. 98
8.Val Jester. 87
9.All The Wine. 88
10.Abel. 86
11.The Geese Of Beverly Road. 99
12.City Middle. 90
13.Mr. November. 98

An album that starts off very strongly but then takes a dip in quality in the middle and then redeems itself with some of the closing tracks. Vocally, it is one of my favourite performances on a National album with it being more husky and masculine. The lyrics that accompany this are also very strong and some of the best writing the group has done is on the opening track which is my favourite song. It isn't the only example of great lyricism on this record though as there is many more moments which are great. The atmosphere and vibe they are going for on here is very well maintained and that creates one of the groups most cohesive and complete listens. However, those few songs in the middle which dip in terms of writing and musically just hold this album back for me. Overall, I love this record and think it is a contender with The Boxer to be their best record in my opinion.

I came to this band late - 2019. Starting with Boxer and High Violet. Saw them live that year. This album although earlier than those albums is no less impressive

From buzzdainer 09/08/2020 22:44 | #257925

Indie rockers The National has made a half-dozen albums that easily could have made my top 100 of all time list. That's how consistently great they've been over the past twenty years. Alligator is their best, as it's the album that best utilizes Matt Berninger's smoky baritone and often ambiguous lyrical style. The album's opener and best song, “Secret Meeting,” tells a quintessential introvert's narrative of wanting to become invisible to avoid an awkward social encounter. “Didn’t anybody tell you how to gracefully disappear in a room?” Berninger wonders over Bryan Devendorf’s sparse drum pattern before feigning an apology both plausible and absurd: “I’m sorry I missed you / I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain.” If you can relate, you understand what it's like both craving social connection and resorting to the most desperate of tactics to avoid it.

From junodog4 07/08/2017 21:34 | #193941

Lovely. They refined their craft to this point. Lyrically, it's as strong as Boxer or High Violet - they get the slight edge for more significance musically.

I'm a bit surprised I like this more on first impressions than Boxer, but I will need to wait it out to see if it is truly better.

Favorite Track: Mr. November

From CanadianGuy 08/05/2015 05:16 | #147139

Great record!

From calsper 03/25/2015 01:06 | #137745

no other artist than these can create what they do. great progression through this gem

Really good album, maybe in some ways I prefer it to Boxer, it's a little less claustrophobic and more energetic and fun, though not as consistent since it drops off for a few tracks in the middle. 'Lit Up' is one of their most underrated tracks.