The National
Mar 10, 2019
The National recently announced their newest album, “I Am Easy To Find” will be released on May 17th on 4AD/Beggars Group along with opening track “You Had Your Soul With You” featuring the vocals of longtime David Bowie collaborator Gail Ann Dorsey. This is the band’s eighth studio album and the follow-up to 2017’s GRAMMY®-award winning release “Sleep Well Beast.”
A companion short film with the same name will also be released with music by The National and inspired by the album. The film was directed by Academy Award-nominated director Mike Mills (20th Century Women, Beginners), and starring Academy Award Winner Alicia Vikander. Mills, along with the band, is credited as co-producer of the album, which was mostly recorded at Long Pond, Hudson Valley, NY with additional sessions in Paris, Berlin, Cincinnati, Austin, Dublin, Brooklyn and more far flung locations. The album features vocal contributions from Sharon Van Etten, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Lisa Hannigan, Mina Tindle and more.
When Mills first reached out to The National’s front-man Matt Berninger, the National’s seventh album, “Sleep Well Beast,” was just coming out, and the band was embarking on a long stint of touring and headlining festivals. “So we talk on the phone, and I was expecting to do a video, and Matt's like, ‘Well we've got all these songs, why don't we do an album, like a film for all the songs,’” Mills recalls. “From the get-go he was like, ‘You can do anything you want,’ which was super generous but very daunting. I don't know shit about music, so it was really interesting that they were so game.”
Beyond the roster of singers, the music itself is emblematic of an expanded worldview. “We're known for being a band that makes songs that build up to this big ta-da and then go away,” says bassist Scott Devendorf. “Making it more fluid and open-ended and not this grand statement all the time, there's more intricacies and more space in the music. To me, it’s not more feminine in any way necessarily, but about having a different perspective and not just having guitars chug along.”
Formed in Cincinnat in 1999, The National consists of Matt Berninger (vocals), Aaron Dessner (guitar, piano, keyboards), Bryce Dessner (guitar), Scott Devendorf (bass) and Bryan Devendorf (drums). The group have released 7 full-length studio albums; “The National” (2001), “Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers” (2003), “Alligator” (2005), “Boxer” (2007), “High Violet” (2010), “Trouble Will Find Me” (2013) and “Sleep Well Beast” (2017).
The National recently added 2019 tour dates for North America and Europe. In April, the band will perform five special concerts as the sole performer in Paris, London, New York, Toronto, and Los Angeles. The new U.S. shows are scheduled for June, August, and September with opening acts Courtney Barnett or Alvvays on select dates. Through the summer and fall, the band also have a number of festival appearances on their calendar.