The National
Sep 22
Ascension of the Crybaby Geeks
Where: Usher Hall, Edinburgh
When: 20 September 2017
Support: Luluc
The National are indie rock royalty whose latest album, Sleep Well Beast, has been their most successful in terms of the charts (including hitting No.1 in the UK) and which dominates tonight’s set. Like REM and Radiohead, bands to which they have some similarities, their first few albums wandered in the indie rock wilderness (despite critical acclaim) but since Boxer their rise has been inexorable. Tonight is not as triumphal as when I last saw them, on the breakthrough High Violet tour, but it is still rewarding, engaging and, despite the nature of many of the lyrics, uplifting. I was at a loss to understand why it took some time for most of the crowd to respond – maybe because they were not yet familiar with the new album?
The countdown to the band arriving on stage is provided by a screen projection of them getting ready backstage which helps atmosphere build. When they do arrive, they are faultless – from the subtle rhythm section of the Devendorf brothers to the guitars and keys of the Dressner twins to the brass section that is so integral to their sound, to the majestic frontman Matt Berninger. Tonight, they offer up their typical mixture of songs – angst-drenched romance, cathartic uplifters, and all with barely penetrable lyrics wrapped in emotion drenched, often subtle but complex, music.
Among the new songs are the hit from the new album, ‘The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness’, which includes a guitar solo that is the closest they have come to classic rock, and the atypical blues ‘Turltleneck’ (which includes a blast at Trump – ‘Fake Empire’ indeed!). More than half the set are older tunes and I am more than happy that whilst they only played three tracks from previous album Trouble Will Find Me (‘Don’t Swallow the Cap’, ‘I Need My Girl’, ‘I Should Live in Salt’) they were my favourite three.
By the end of the main set the crowd were fully engaged and were treated to four encores. For the first, ‘Born To Beg’, the band are joined on stage by the support band Luluc (male and female specialising in good harmonising and guitars – their latest album was co-produced by Aaron Dressner). They end with ‘Terrible Love’ whose gradually building tempo provides a perfect end.
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