First Two Pages of Frankenstein
A quiet, beautifully bruised collection of late-night indie rock. Soft piano chords, flickering drum machines, and a deep baritone navigating the fog of depression.
A quiet, beautifully bruised collection of late-night indie rock. Soft piano chords, flickering drum machines, and a deep baritone navigating the fog of depression.
Quiet consolidation
Muted piano chords and flickering drum machines carry a heavy baritone through the quiet fog of midnight depression.
By trading their usual propulsive anthems for a hushed, low energy restraint, the band settles into a quietly exhausted sigh that values stillness over catharsis.
Warmly received as a gentle and emotionally resonant collection, the album was broadly praised for its airy atmosphere, collaborative guest features, and intimate portrayal of mental disconnection. While some reviewers felt the exceptionally hushed, slow-tempo songs occasionally bordered on the sleepy, most embraced the record’s comforting sense of catharsis and quiet reassurance.
“Nine albums deep, the National find new energy by conjuring not just a great, suffocating fog but also the far light that guides the way out”Read review
“Phoebe Bridgers, Taylor Swift and Sufjan Stevens join Matt Berninger and co on the follow-up to I Am Easy To Find”Read review
“With help from Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers, and Sufjan Stevens, the National return with their gentlest album yet: a collection of airy, tender gestures”Read review
“On Frankenstein, The National show signs of renewed potential after their period of uncertainty, even if in split second glimpses and snapshots and sounds”Read review
“The US band’s ninth album features guest vocals from pals Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers, but their signature melancholy remains undimmed”Read review
“With a little help from Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens, the US indie heroes deliver a dose of profound catharsis and their finest album in a decade”Read review
“While the album doesn’t necessarily break new ground for the band, it’s an exemplary display of what they do best”Read review
“After sinking into a deep depression, Matt Berninger returns with The National on this reassuring, if rather soporific, collection of songs”Read review
“First Two Pages of Frankenstein is yet another dose to remind you why – and how – the band have managed to carve their own special place out in the cultural landscape”Read review
“Like Frankenstein and his monster, the commitment to the design and blueprint of this record is incredible; every minute detail, sound, glitch, has been selected with the utmost care by The National”Read review
“Indie rockers The National use every tool in their toolbox, from devastating lyrics to a Taylor Swift feature, to create a cohesive and expressive ninth LP”Read review
“Nothing here sounds precisely new - this is the aesthetic that gelled around the time of High Violet, yet the skill in the craft is married to a brightness in outlook that lets First Two Pages of Frankenstein operate on two parallel paths: it can serve as moody atmosphere or reward close listening”Read review
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