This was a stopgap EP released by the National in 2004, just
before their breakthrough album Alligator.
It’s generally more quiet and introspective than their full-length
albums. Wasp Nest opens with
sleigh-bells, and the sparse, slow music provides a perfect bed for singer Matt
Berninger’s croon of lyrics like “get over here I wanna kiss your skinny
throat”. What seems at first to be an
insubstantial track is effortlessly and defiantly NOT.
There are austere ballads featuring strings like All Dolled
Up In Straps “where have you been” and the dramatic title track, the latter of
which builds up to a crescendo. The
subtlety of brothers Dessner and Devendorf is particularly evident on these
tracks.
The EP sees the first appearance of All The Wine, probably
the most commercial moment here, and the fine, picked guitars of About Today
are just shaded by the penultimate track.
It’s a live version of Murder Me Rachael, ramping up the violins,
guitars, pounding drums and Berninger screaming “love her to ribbons”. It’s an edgy and powerful performance.
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