The National, Alligator

I initially rejected the idea of listening to Alligator by current American indie darlings The National, because on first glance it just seemed to be fairly bog-standard American college guitar rock, but people kept telling me how great an album it was and how great a band The National are, so I thought perhaps I should give these guys a second chance.

First I played a downloaded track, "Karen," which is, ostensibly about the singer's girlfriend. It's kind of a strange, mid-tempo thing, and starts out as really just your average background stuff you might have on while doing the ironing. Until you start listening to the lyrics:

Without warm water in my head

All I see is black and white and red

I feel mechanical and thin

Hear me play my violin again

I'm living in the target's shoes

All I see is black and white and blue

I think the same thing mostly applies across the board. This album is a real grower. It sounds so simple and so nonchalant on the surface, but with repeated listens and a bit of concentration, it is full of some of the most poignant and well-observed songs I've heard in ages. It's full of things which will make the discerning listener go "What did he just say?" which I cannot repeat on here; and moments which sound so familiar that you wonder how no band had written that particular guitar line, lyric or song already.

So, after a couple of months with this CD, I'm a total convert, and I would wholeheartedly recommend to others to go out and buy this album, as it's a gem!