|
They are five friends from Cincinnati, Ohio, who started making music in 1999, when they found themselves living near one another again in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. They weren't looking to take over the
world with a demo and matching outfits. Rather, music was their way of letting off steam from those good jobs. Records are what they talked about when they went out drinking together, when they ate together, when they played Wiffle ball in the
summertime.
Simply put, songwriting allowed The National to deepen their conversations. It's how they broached the topics they really wanted to talk about - how they were past the halfway mark
between twenty and thirty, and speeding toward a kind of permanence they never expected; how they pleased and disappointed their mothers and fathers; how flings had become girlfriends, and girlfriends, wives.
Thankfully, the band's pre-existing bonds lent this musical conversation an unusual intimacy. The National contains two pairs of brothers -- Aaron Dessner (guitars, bass) and Bryce Dessner (guitar), Scott
Devendorf (guitar; bass) and Bryan Devendorf (drums). Matt sings because he's taller, blonder, and older than the rest.
The National (Brassland 2001) was recorded and released before they played a single show, before the music spilled far from their heads. They cut the album with engineer Nick Lloyd and formed a label with a
writer (yours truly), so those recordings could be released.
|
