Laugh Track
A loose, rhythmically alive companion to its sister album, trading programmed beats for propulsive live drumming and explosive, late-night guitar freakouts.
A loose, rhythmically alive companion to its sister album, trading programmed beats for propulsive live drumming and explosive, late-night guitar freakouts.
Live-honed companion
Spattered with sweat and late-night static, these songs trade sterile drum machines for loose, propulsive room-reverb. You can feel the band breathing together again, letting the guitars finally boil over.
A sudden kinetic jolt wakes the band from their recent lethargy, pushing this record into a medium energy state that trades muted electronic pulses for a raw, physical presence.
Welcomed as a warm companion to their previous release, the album was widely praised by critics for its organic, uninhibited feel and the seamless chemistry of the band. Reviewers admired how these songs balance reflective intimacy with a spirited collaborative energy, resulting in a cohesive and deeply connected collection.
“It re-establishes them as a group of long-time collaborators in line with one another, none of them standing out from the others”Read review
“On Laugh Track, The National remain as bold as they’ve ever been—plugging the sounds of a 20-year catalog into a 12-chapter show and calling upon some friends to fill out the party”Read review
“What once resonated as a stirring reaction to the most oppressive subtleties of white-collar gloom and marital anxieties now just scans like a token complement to your sertraline prescription; no-one likes watching a legacy turn into a commodity”Read review
“The National’s second album of 2023 extends its predecessor’s subdued mood and reclusive purview”Read review
“The band follow up April’s ‘First Two Pages of Frankenstein’ with a surprise companion record that’s louder, more immediate and rawer than its predecessor”Read review
“Matt Berninger ropes in old friends Bon Iver and Phoebe Bridgers for bullish surprise album”Read review
“Their second album of 2023 contains enough subtle differences to distinguish it from its predecessor”Read review
“The existential conundrums of a cast of sad-sack characters – including a shattering Phoebe Bridgers collaboration – build up in dread and anxiety toward an intense, teeth-baring pay off”Read review
“Mourning an uncertain period in the band and liberating themselves from the inhibitions that once held them back, The National are closer than ever, the type of closeness that allows individual growth, and this organic coming together is reflected in the collection of songs on ‘Laugh Track’”Read review
“The National remains fascinated by the consoling power of stillness, operating at a low hum that allows space for Matt Berninger to ruminate as the band searches for variations of texture within cycling chords”Read review
“Although a somewhat flawed album, there’s no denying that the band seem to have returned to the kind of nocturnal, elemental rock that made them famous in the first place”Read review
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