The National
LABEL: 4AD

The National is an indie band based in Brooklyn, NY that formed in 1999 when the members began playing together for fun on the weekends. The band consists of two sets of brothers, Aaron Dessner (guitars, bass, piano) and Bryce Dessner (guitar, piano), and Scott Devendorf (guitar; bass) and Bryan Devendorf (drums) and singer Matt Berninger. The National’s music is driven by Bryan Devendorf’s textured rhythm and defined by Berninger’s deadpan baritone.

With four full lengths and two EPs under its belt The National is gearing up for the release of it’s fifth album, High Violet. The band released its first album, a self-titled full length, in 2001 on Brassland Records, a label launched by the Dessner brothers with their friend Alec Hanley Bemis. It was followed in 2003 with a second album, Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers, and the standalone Cherry Tree EP in 2004.

The band’s 2005 album Alligator, its label debut for Beggars Banquet, the legendary British label and original home of Bauhaus, The Cult, Gene Loves Jezebel, Icicle Works, Love and Rockets, Gary Numan. It was received with critical praise from critics and fans alike. With this album a wider audience finally discovered The National. By year’s end the band had become a small sensation, landing on critics’ lists, selling out large venues across Europe and the US and appearing on television.



The National’s fourth album, Boxer, was released in 2007 and stands as it’s most critically acclaimed to date. The band’s audience continued to expand; and it went from playing festival side stages to headlining them. A highlight of the Boxer fame came when Barack Obama used lead track, “Fake Empire” in a prominent campaign advertisement that also played just before his speeches at the Democratic National Convention and on election night. The band also produced t-shirts featuring Obama’s image that were sold at shows. Proceeds were donated to Obama’s presidential campaign. After Boxer, the band released a dual package of the twelve-track Virginia EP on CD and a film of the band by Vincent Moon called A Skin, A Night on DVD.

In 2009 the Dessner brothers joined forces with the AIDS charity Red Hot to produce Dark Was The Night, a 32-track compilation focused on the best of independent rock music at the beginning of the 21st century.

The National is slated to release its next album, titled High Violet on May 11, 2010. The new record features cameos by Sufjan Stevens, who helped compose the melody for the song “Afraid Of Everyone” and Richie Reed Parry from Arcade Fire, who played guitar and stand up bass on several songs and sang a seven-part vocal on “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks.” Justin Vernon from Bon Iver does main harmony on the same song.

A couple weeks after its release the band will headline Sasquatch Music Festival in George, Washington.



PRESS

“Obviously, it's pretty easy to read a lot into the National's music and especially into Berninger's lyrics, but that shouldn't imply that Boxer is a willfully difficult or overly academic work. Like those on their last album, these songs reveal themselves gradually but surely, building to the inevitable moment when they hit you in the gut. It's the rare album that gives back whatever you put into it.” —Pitchfork

“It says something that even two years after it was released, The National's Boxer still feels fresh.” —Under The Radar

“The National continues getting excellent mileage from the arresting juxtaposition of propulsion and languor on songs like “Squalor Victoria,” where the staccato tom-toms tear through the grey gelatinous wash of strings like a knife fight in frame-by-frame slow motion.” —Paste Magazine



TOUR

April 22, 2010 • Richmond, VA • The National
April 23, 2010 • Richmond, VA • The National
April 26, 2010 • New York, NY • The Greene Space
May 05, 2010 • London, UK • Electric Ballroom
May 06, 2010 • London, UK • Royal Albert Hall
May 07, 2010 • Paris, France • Le Zenith
May 08, 2010 • Berlin, Germany • Huxley’s Neue Welt
May 09, 2010 • Berlin, Germany • Astra
May 21, 2010 • Los Angeles, CA • The Wiltern
May 22, 2010 • Los Angeles, CA • The Wiltern
May 23, 2010 • San Diego, CA • Spreckels Theatre
May 26, 2010 • Oakland, CA • Fox Theatre
May 27, 2010 • Oakland, CA • Fox Theatre
May 29, 2010 • Quincy, WA • Gorge Amphitheater Sasquatch Festival

June 02, 2010 • Boston, MA • House Of Blues
June 03, 2010 • Boston, MA • House Of Blues
June 04, 2010 • Philadelphia, PA • Electric Factory
June 05, 2010 • Philadelphia, PA • Electric Factory
June 06, 2010 • Washington, DC • Dar Constitution Hall
June 08, 2010 • Toronto, Canada • Massey Hall
June 09, 2010 • Toronto, Canada • Massey Hall
June 11-13, 2010 • Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
June 16, 2010 • New York, NY • Radio City Music Hall

July 12, 2010 • Lyon, France • Les Nuits De Fourviere
July 13, 2010 • Lyon, France • Les Nuits De Fourviere
July 14, 2010 • Dachau (Munich), Germany • Dachau Musiksommer
July, 16 2010 • Southwold, UK • Latitude Festival
July 16-18, 2010 • Lisbon, Portugal • Super Bock Super Rock
July 27, 2010 • Brooklyn, NY • Celebrate Brooklyn!
July 31, 2010 • Montreal, Canada • Osheaga Festival

August 6-8, 2010 • Chicago, IL • Lollapalooza
August 13, 2010 • Gothenburg, Sweden • Way Out West Festival
August 14, 2010 • Haldern, Germany • Haldern Pop Festival
August 15, 2010 • St. Malo, France • La Route Du Rock Festival

September 3-5, 2010 • Stradbally, Co. Laois, Ireland • Electric Picnic




LINKS

The National Official Website
The National on Myspace
The National’s Facebook Page




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