My Vote For Best Band Of The Year

You probably have never heard of them. Frankly, prior to this summer, neither did I. They started in Brooklyn in the late 90's and released their first album in 2001. They released ambitious albums in 2003 and 2005. In May of this year they released the best album of the year, Boxer, a stunningly beautiful, melodic, dense, and textured set of songs that describe existentialism in the mid-00's like no other. Their influences include country-rock, British pop, Leonard Cohen, folk, and Nick Cave.

The band is called The National.

Led by vocalist, Matt Berninger, and two sets of brothers, The National continued their upward momentum with Boxer that is both full of depth and emotion as well as being melodic and charming to listen all the way through more than once. The lyrics illustrate romanticism mixed with the yearning that comes from a mid-life crisis. The National is one of the only bands who clearly put their drummer front and center as opposed to necessary background dressing.

The hallmark of an excellent album is whether that album has three or less "throw away songs." Throw away songs are simply mediocre or worse filler songs that artists use to fill up to make a whole album. Most artists have at least five or more. Some have eleven or twelve throw away songs after their hit. The fewer the number of throw away songs the better the album. Boxer has no throw away songs. Period.

My more selfish criteria for a great album is whether or not the album represents a soundtrack to my world at the current moment. U2's Achtung Baby is one of my favorite albums because it was the soundtrack of my life in the year that it was released (1991). Incidentally, Achtung Baby had only two throw away songs.

In 2007, I had my "mid-life" crisis. The National's Boxer was my soundtrack.