Ten Years Ago: The National - High Violet

 

In the Ten Years Ago series, we take a look back at the ten most brilliant releases of 2010 which are celebrating their first decade. Next up is the maudlin classic 'High Violet' from the National.

The National had already become highly regarded for their trademark combination of sombre self reflective lyrics and clever multi layered soundscapes. The band had been steadily building a solid following since emerging in the early noughties and their third and fourth albums ‘Alligator’ and ‘Boxer’ had been highly critically acclaimed. The band became known for creating well crafted songs that married Matt Berninger’s gloom laden baritone with shimmering guitar rhythms and layered melodies.

‘High Violet’ was the record that would propel them to widespread recognition. The album is a collection of melancholy soaked narratives that meanders between haunting melodies and stirring ballads with all of its tracks sharing a musical bloodline whilst enjoying its own identity.

It begins with the rough distorted buzz of ‘Terrible Love’, a song that cleverly builds from a low key beginning to become a sonic tidal wave of passionate urgency. It is followed by ‘Sorrow’, which similarly begins with a humming buzz but this time created by a pattering drumbeat and strummed guitars that back Berninger’s reflections of heartbreak as he sings ‘I live in a city sorrow built, its in my honey, it’s in my milk’.

A rousing drumbeat and bassline power along the haunting melody of ‘Anyone’s Ghost’. It’s catchy chorus sits at odds with its narrative of loneliness and anxiety as Berninger sings ‘you said it was not inside my heart, it was, you said it should tear a kid apart, it does’.

Raw and ugly distortion marks the start of ‘Little Faith’ but this quickly merges into an orchestral swirl accompanied by purposeful bass and drums. ‘Afraid of Everyone’ is another haunting ballad. It builds from a solemn start reminiscent of ‘In Utero’ era Nirvana before escalating with meandering riffs, thudding drums and harmonised vocals merging into an epic conclusion as Berninger yearns ‘your voice is swallowing my soul’. It is distressing and stirring in equal measure.

Single ‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’ is a highlight of the record and is the closest the album comes to a festival anthem. Once again it is the intricate and impassioned drums that fuel the song as it builds to a passionate rattle that elevates the melancholic lyrics

‘Lemonworld’ and ‘Runaway’ follow with the latter standing out as one of the album’s most enjoyable lower key acoustic ruminations. It is delicate and raw and shows that the band can still hit the same emotional notes when they strip back to basics.

‘Conversation 16’ is ironically the bleakest and best track on the album. A reflection on the impact of anxiety and self-doubt on a relationship, it’s chorus is unforgettably passionate and sad whilst it’s verses shimmer like heat haze as Berninger sighs ‘it’s a Hollywood summer, you never believe the shitty things I think, meet your friends out for dinner, when I said what I said I didn’t mean anything’.

‘England’ provides another enjoyably low key love affair ballad that pre-empts the beautiful closing number ‘Vanderlye Crybaby Geeks’. The album closer is one of the band's most moving and stirring ballads and creatively reimagines the Beatles ‘Cry Baby Cry’ lyric as something far more passive and questioning. It is sad, uplifting, weary and energetic all in just over 4 minutes.

‘High Violet’ is not pop music and never pretends to be. It is not music to put on in the background or to hum along to on the radio. It is tales of heartbreak, misery, reflection, forgiveness and retrospection set to passionate, intricate and creative melodies that either shimmer through intricate layers or offer simple companionship to the lyrics. It is poetry and music to ponder, to discover and to really listen to. It may not be uplifting or joyful but sadness is part of the human condition and rarely does sadness sound so authentic. It is a maudlin classic