Please don't hurt me...

Hobbes42 · 2022-10-17T07:25:25+00:00

The thing I appreciate most about The National is how I never fall in love with an album immediately.

It always takes a couple years.

coffeefandom · 2022-10-17T08:10:27+00:00

Hey whats your favorite song on the album y'all?

For me, Quiet Light. As a photographer, blue hour (the hour before and after the sun rises / sets) is such a moody and beautiful change of light and this song has a lot of imagery and beauty around this natural phenomenon.

The idea of the song being about a relationship ending makes it all the more beautiful. Losing people is a part of life.

MevrouwJip · 2022-10-17T10:42:14+00:00

I especially love the film version

Likelybuzzed1 · 2022-10-17T16:05:03+00:00

Surprised no one has mentioned the song, I AM Easy To Find. Probably my favorite on the album. Everything I love about the band is in this song. Really wish the album would've got more attention on this last tour, but oh well, YouTube will do.

thefrayedfiles · 2022-10-17T07:34:20+00:00

IAETF is their Magnum opus, i will die on this hill. Nothing hits quite as hard as it does - even the most uplifting song is a dagger through my heart. Absolutely brilliant.

Late_Suit3308 · 2022-10-17T15:19:55+00:00

Quiet Light and Light Years are top tier National songs for me, rest of the album is so so. Rylan would be great if it was the KEXP version

thespiderdoctor · 2022-10-17T07:09:32+00:00

It absolutely is, no questions about it. Last Christmas, my mom had a difficult time and was pretty tired. So we just let her vibe to her favorite album which is this one. This whole album makes me think of her and how much she loves this band. Without her and my dad, I would've never been able to appreciate it as much as they do if not more so. So, yeah, you're right this album is a masterpiece. :)

javierorubio · 2022-10-17T18:58:07+00:00

The response from you peeps has been amazing! My intention was never to discredit any of their other albums, on the contrary. I feel that the evolution of The National as a band has progressively shown In their sound. This is why they are my absolute favorite band.

Their music has helped me through many rough periods. Even this year in March when I did a ketamine treatment for depression, I listened to all of their albums, no skips, start to finish, during the sessions. I might expand on that on another post.

Thank you for the love and thanks for the gold!

Love you all but remember "All the wine is all for me".

cholulamare · 2022-10-17T22:23:13+00:00

I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet but I was listening to IAETF today and my god, Matt's voice on this album 🤌

I really think he's sounding better as he gets older and the low parts of IAETF and Roman Holiday especially are captivating.

lamentedfriend · 2022-10-17T08:26:22+00:00

I think it COULD be a masterpiece, I found IAETF as "natural heartbreaking", like, you could be feeling a lot of pain, sadness, sorrow, stress, but you can think about this kind of feelings watching a long and large pond, nothing but hearing the birds singing, the breeze touching your face, the sunset in front of you, sitting in the grass. That's what I feel when I listen any song of the album. My problem is the tracklist itself, I don't like too much the interludes, the length doesn't justify itself neither, a 40-45 length would be perfect for me.

caitsith01 · 2022-10-17T10:36:39+00:00

No need to change your mind, you like what you like.

For me it sits comfortably a rung or two below Alligator->Sleep Well Beast which are all 5/5, and it suffers by comparison. Also I consider Matt's voice as an integral part of the band's sound so I didn't enjoy the guest vocals, despite them being extremely good.

I have been hoping for a shift back to something a bit more varied and (at times) up tempo but the new single doesn't inspire much hope of that.

zoodlenose · 2022-10-17T12:21:21+00:00

Theres just not enough Matt for it to be their best album.

Low-Kaleidoscope-149 · 2022-10-17T15:27:08+00:00

Totally agree, I don’t know why so many people seem to dislike it so much, it’s incredible. The only stuff I can do without are the interludes and Not in Kansas.

quicksilver777 · 2022-10-17T12:55:46+00:00

Each album to the die hard fans like us hold a spacial place in our hearts. Most of that may come from the timing in our lives or special events that took place. For IAEFT it never really resonated with me other than a couple of songs: Light Years and to a lesser extent Rylan. Unpopular opinion on this sub but I think they can do better as musicians and songwriters. Looking forward to see where they go with their upcoming album. I fear it may not be to my liking again if Weird Goodbyes is an indication.

ellaadored · 2022-10-17T07:35:46+00:00

There's no lie here fam. It's a triumph of songwriting and arrangements.

junkgarage · 2022-10-17T10:55:10+00:00

I’ll disagree - bar the first two; I think its their worst record and too long. I find it hard to sit through in one sitting and only ever go back to individual songs. I also didnt love the tour for the record from the shows i attended.

Lightningstruckagain · 2022-10-17T12:31:31+00:00

Take out the interlude fillers and yes, I would agree.

2022-10-17T16:09:58+00:00

Rather the song than the album imo

Quaznarg · 2022-10-19T05:03:03+00:00

I mean, it's still leagues better than most many band's best albums. I enjoy most of the songs on it. If it was cut to maybe 8-10 tracks I would agree with you, but as it stands it's just too long. It has some of the best songs they've ever written, but some stuff that's just okay by their standards.

cparksrun · 2022-10-17T13:58:27+00:00

It's the album with the most skips for me. The interludes aren't great, kinda hate Not in Kansas (even though I recently realized I know all the words), and I loved the guest vocals but still wish Matt had more of a presence.

I hope this is the furthest into "artsy" territory they venture. I'm glad they did it, and glad they went into a unique direction and explored new sounds and possibilities. But now I kinda want them to dial it back and release something closer to the albums preceeding IAETF.

bradk11098 · 2022-10-18T03:24:58+00:00

Not in my Top 5. It doesn’t grasp me in the entirety like the other ones do. That’s the thing I love so much about the band. Each album other than IAETF feels complete. This one doesn’t for me. There are some really great songs. Not enough Matt and very disjointed. I can listen to it in pieces but I mostly listen to it as part of a shuffle of songs as opposed to a sit down. Now, SWB, TWFM, Boxer and Alligator I can soak up in a sitting.

RealCorrigan · 2022-10-19T06:35:54+00:00

This album absolutely destroyed me when it first came out. Part of that was the movie, but it dropped at a delicate time for me as well and it was hard to get through cover to cover. Circumstances have changed now and I’m able to enjoy it more for what it is, but I agree 100% that it’s a masterpiece among the many others from The National!

Equivalent-Shoe6239 · 2022-11-16T00:24:43+00:00

Truth!!

Candy_Efficient · 2022-10-17T12:45:59+00:00

Ill just say a few things:

Not in Kansas

Quiet Light

Roman Holiday

Hey Rosey

Oblivions

Album 100/10

2022-10-17T19:39:33+00:00

It’s good no doubt but masterpiece idk.. wish they would turn up the amps a little more … a mixture of alligator and I’m east to find would be a masterpiece

LongReindeer1463 · 2022-10-17T12:37:54+00:00

Its the Best national album! Fight me

cheeseguy412 · 2022-10-18T01:25:36+00:00

their best by far

LightEndedTheNight · 2022-10-18T04:37:07+00:00

It’s their best album.

shaqaroses · 2022-10-17T21:13:58+00:00

Not so much. Why so many features?

AmazingTea2 · 2022-10-18T14:29:04+00:00

It's a majestic, graceful record. I'd say that it's their most vocally accomplished album, just a huge amount of incredible melodies and vocal ideas that have an effortless quality them, given that there are so many of them. Love how the female vocalists blend so well with Matt's voice and Rylan is just a bloody masterpiece!

Ok_Preparation_4823 · 2022-10-18T15:45:53+00:00

Honestly, I just don't love Gail Ann Dorsey. I loved the version of You Had Your Soul with You with Julien Baker. She was featured too heavily on the album. I agree with the earlier comment about wishing it the KEXP version of Rylan.

This album was released while I was in Italy on my honeymoon and I remember listening to Roman Holiday while being on a train going to Rome. That was really cool.

At the end of the day, it was a good-not-great album. I think based on their recent set lists and the direction it sounds like they're going with their new record, they weren't crazy about the outcome of the album either. I remember them discussing Not in Kansas, which was one of my favorite songs except for the weird interludes, and they said those were Mike Mills idea. I suspect that a lot of the concepts from this album that National fans don't love were Mike Mills idea.

MrChummyNose · 2022-10-17T11:50:48+00:00

I agree, loved it since release, still love it, quiet light is my favourite song by them period.

Lordthom · 2022-10-17T12:25:36+00:00

It is the album that made me get to know the national. So it will always have a special place in my heart

samerrrhaaa3 · 2022-10-17T21:17:08+00:00

Absolutely agree, I think I'd place it second/third in their discography behind Sleep Well Beast and maybe Boxer but there are so many slow burners and really well thought out and deeply layered cuts on this album. Certainly is thematically my favorite The National album. Quiet Light and Oblivions are two of my top 5 songs in The National canon, just perfection!

meltdownin5 · 2022-10-18T13:36:11+00:00

O. Try ty I.

cardmayorsam · 2022-10-18T19:33:12+00:00

All of their albums are great! This one is no exception.

Fluffy_Juggernaut_15 · 2022-10-22T16:46:49+00:00

The production is pristine, but I think the songwriting is a step below everything from Cherry Tree through SWB.

dogtooth2222 · 2022-10-24T20:41:13+00:00

I think it's a pretty great album but calling it a masterpiece is seriously lowering the bar for what is their best work, or what makes an album a masterpiece in general.

There is a lot of filler in there, IMO. Some of the songs are big swings and misses. Whereas an album like Boxer or Trouble Will Find Me sets and maintains a high bar from start to finish.

I guess the follow-up question I have for the poster is, where do you rank the album amongst their discog? If you think it's their best/your favorite, by all means designate it a masterpiece. But if you think it's your third or fourth favorite national album I think you're giving them a little too much credit, sort of suggesting their lesser works are still in some sort of Indie Pantheon of greatness.

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