Boxer

Today's Album That Jason Is Pretty Much Sold On is Boxer, by The National. I do have to confess two things about this band:
1) I bought one of their shirts via the Yellow Bird Project.
2) The first time I heard them, I thought that the singer was the guy from Crash Test Dummies. Sadly, no.

This album is something I have listened to, in pieces, somewhere in the realm of six or seven times. However, I still don't feel like I have a strong grasp of the album's personality. However, I'll offer my somewhat uninformed opinions, as I typically do.

The album overall seems to be pretty good. This is one of those rare bands that makes a really great ballad and just a good uptempo song. That is, the faster, driving songs on the album aren't bad by any means, but the ballads tend to overshadow them. While the deep male vocals are a unique touch, sometimes the faster songs tend to veer a little too close to the sort of 'we want to be the baby of 1985-era U2 and the Smiths' sound that some bands (Interpol, Editors, and who knows how many others) lean on. Maybe these songs just need one or two dedicated listens; none of them are bad, the sound isn't maybe as original as some of the better songs would lead me to expect.

The standout tracks are the ballads; specifically, "Ada" and "Fake Empire" are wonderful. This album is probably worth buying on the strength of those songs alone. Let me stress this one more time: "Ada" is a touching song, "Fake Empire" is glorious.

I'll maybe revisit this album after some more listens, as I did enjoy it, but I feel like it's not getting a fair shake from me.

EDIT: Upon listening to this album again, with less commotion around me, I liked it much better. The songs are somewhat reserved and introspective, and as a whole the albums is pretty good. It's a sensitive album, full of quiet anger, brooding and seething. Worth the hype, in my opinion.

In Other News:
I am going to buy Neko Case tickets tomorrow for her show in Des Moines, later this year. I'm freakin' excited.