15 Second Record Review - High Violet by The National

I love The National, but mostly as a live act, which seems to run counter to the opinion of most people. 2005's "Alligator" and the 2007 followup "Boxer" are excellent albums, but Matt Berninger's extensive emotion is amplified, personified, made more explicit when experienced live. "High Violet" picks up where those two excellent albums leave off, but lacks any searingly powerful songs like Abel or Fake Empire, which makes the new album feel a lot like a collection of unreleased B-sides from earlier, more successful efforts. Which is something of a let down. High Violet is a fine album, very listenable, and won't disappoint avid National fans. The difficulty lies in failing to tread new ground, or even live up to ground already covered. Perhaps seeing the album performed live will cheer me up.

Overall rating for High Violet (Buzz-worthy, Buzz-Zzzzzz, Buzz-kill): Buzz-Zzzzzz