| | National Alligator CD National Discography of CDs
 (3 Customer Reviews)
Two pairs of brothers--Aaron and Bryce Dessner (guitars) and Scott and Bryan Devendorf (bass and drums, respectively)--keep things alternately chiming, churning, and appropriately atmospheric. The startling relationship sketch "Karen," for example, rides a light rock pulse dominated by piano and augmented by strings, making it one of the album's shining moments. "All the Wine" turns Berninger's usually dark self-exploration on its head with its semi-ironic self-aggrandizement. ALLIGATOR's 13 tracks testify to the National's standing as one of the more distinctive and absorbing bands around.
Special limited edition issue of the Brooklyn based Ohioan's third critically acclaimed opus, like Entertainment Weekly's rave, "The twilite melodies and Matt Berninger's gossamer vocals will haunt your troubled dreams". This special edition includes 2 previous rarities {"Thrilling Of Claire" and "Driver, Surprise Me") along with remixes of "Lit Up" and "Secret Meeting", plus a live version of "Geese Of Beverly Road". Topping it all off are the enhanced videos of "Abel", "Lit Up" and "Daughters Of The Soho Riots".
The National's debut for Beggars Banquet Records boasts eloquent production and some of frontman Matt Berninger's finest songs. The Brooklyn band's sound includes elements of folk and swirling indie rock, with Berninger's literate, emotive tunes drawing heavily on the tradition of melancholic singer/songwriters. On "Daughters of the Soho Riots," Berninger's baritone croon recalls Gordon Lightfoot, yet his lyrics are incisive, confessional, and decidedly contemporary. The combination of surreal imagery and genuine pathos in "Baby, We'll Be Fine" (expressed in the song's repeated refrain) is also representative of Berninger's craft.
The National: Matt Berninger (vocals); Scott Devendorf (guitar, bass guitar); Bryce Dessner (guitar); Aaron Dessner (guitars, bass guitar); Bryan Devendorf (drums).
Uncut (p.94) - 5 stars out of 5 - "[B]uried in the richness of their music, there's a spare elegance unheard since The Triffids....They feed an energy more residual than that of The Rapture or The Strokes."
Magnet (p.53) - Ranked #10 in Magnet's "The 20 Best Albums Of 2005" - "Once inside, you're privy to literate songs about conflicted men, unhinged minds and worried heroes."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.108) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[The album] walks the same Cold War-era Bowery streets as Interpol but is not more than a half step away from lysergic brilliance." Alligator Music Review Average Rating: (4.7 out of 5 stars)   one of 2005 best albums
i had never heard of the national before this album. but as soon as i've listened to it i've realized that it would have become one of my favourite this year. heartfelt songs, great voice, good lyrics...buy it.
Submitted by glass1980 (italy) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
More than five stars if possible
I started listening to this album on Monday 30 January. It is now Tuesday 7 February and I haven't listened to anything else at all in more than a week. Two or three complete plays a day and I still haven't got to the bottom of it. Never before has a record done this to me. It's become my home. I'm afraid to listen to anything else. Rich, enchanting, haunting, enveloping, they make a complete world which you just don't want to leave. Sorry to miss you, I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain. What?
Submitted by Aidan Walker (Brighton, UK)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No  This band is definitely going somewhere...
This is the first album i have heard from The National and i must say that I am very impressed. Sweet, tender and somewhat dark, Alligator will delight you even more after each spin.
Submitted by james (London, ON CANADA)
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Purchase Alligator CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | National Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers CD (2003)
Alligator album
 $12.19  
For a band that's been compared to Joy Division, Leonard Cohen, Wilco, and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, the National sure sounds a lot more like the Czars or Uncle Tupelo on this sophomore album Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers. Where the band might lack Joy Division's angular fury, Cohen's existentialism, and Cave's vampiric attack, vocalist Matt Berninger and company whip up a murky alt country meets chamber pop vibe that's quite potent. The five-piece mostly keeps things on the country side of the fence during the album's first half, as slide guitars and fiddles overpower just about any ...
| | Shins Chutes Too Narrow CD (2003)
Alligator CD music
$12.49 
Recorded in James Mercer's Basement, Portland, Oregon and Avasti Studio, Seattle, Washington.
When the Shins bowled over music fans and critics alike in 2001 seemingly out of nowhere (but actually out of Albuquerque and years of playing together) with OH, INVERTED WORLD, their stunningly beautiful debut, the comparisons came pouring in. Scribes likened their insistent, melodic sound and James Mercer's hyper-literate, oblique but mellifluous lyrics to many mostly anachronistic, all deeply revered sources, including everything ...
| | Arcade Fire Funeral CD (2004)
Alligator music CDs
$12.05
This Montreal ensemble's fiery debut is marked by surging guitars, soulful strings, driving drums, brilliant bass lines, and the quavering vocals of married couple Win Butler and Regine Chassagne. The group's song structures careen through ...
| | National Boxer CD (2007)
Alligator songs
$9.95
| | Decemberists Picaresque CD (2005)
Alligator album
$13.69
| | Band Of Horses Everything All The Time CD (2006)
Alligator CD music
$11.65
| | 6ths Hyacinths & Thistles CD (2000)
Alligator music CDs
$9.95
Principally recorded at First Reformed Church, Brooklyn, New York.
1995's WASPS' NESTS was a who's who of mid-'90s indie rock which served as a handy introduction to Stephin Merritt's unique and wonderful songwriting. 2000's HYACINTHS AND THISTLES follows the same format of 14 singers singing 14 Merritt songs, but instead of focusing on hip indie folks, the lineup this time seems to reflect Merritt's ...
| | Dan Hill Longer Fuse CD (1977) Import; Limited Edition
Alligator songs
$9.79
Dan Hill finally hit the big time with his third record, Longer Fuse, scoring a number three hit with "Sometimes When We Touch." A painfully earnest love song, Hill sounds pained when admits that "Sometimes when we touch/The honesty's too much" -- which ...
| | Nine Inch Nails Pretty Hate Machine CD (1989) Germany
Alligator album
$9.59
| | Jane Birkin Rendez-Vous CD (2004) (Import) France
Alligator CD music
$11.79
Following on from the world music stylings of 2002's remarkable Arabesque album, but dispensing with that album's reliance on Serge Gainsbourg compositions, 2004's Rendez-Vous is Jane Birken's most wide-open album in years, a joyous romp whose only downfall is, contrarily, the very factor that brought it so much attention. A collection of duets, Rendez-Vous pairs Birken with singers as far-flung as Etienne Daho and Bryan Ferry, Françoise Hardy and Beth Gibbons, and the success rate is thrown as far across the spectrum as the guests. Alain Chamfort, for example, can add nothing to "T'As Pas le Droit d'Avoir Moins Mal Que Moi" simply because his vocal approach ...
| | Alex Cline Cloud Plate CD (2005)
Alligator music CDs
$15.19
Cline, who was in charge of post-production editing, deliberately shaped the final selections on the CD to favor, in his words, "the subtle, spacious side of things," although one long piece, "Assisted Collapse," slowly and relentless builds to a roaring, whirling climax. Another somewhat anomalous track, "Robot Mudra," injects a bit of musical mischief (as well as an overtly techno element) by introducing a robotic, processed chant from Kaoru, followed by a steady mechanical pulse, probably from one of Stinson's effects boxes, which Cline quietly embellishes, creating an unexpected but delightful groove. Elsewhere, pieces such as "Ions," "Mountain," and "Cloud" evoke that spacious quality to which Cline refers, although the pieces are never merely pretty and only occasionally ambient in the oceanic sense. (The closing minutes of the haunting "Visual Drift" perhaps come closest to conventional ambience, although even here, Kaoru's wordless, looped chirping maintains a sense of drama.) In spite of the overall sonic spaciousness, a great deal is happening in each piece, but it is seldom wild and chaotic in the manner of free jazz -- except perhaps for portions of the more aggressive "Assisted Collapse." When dispensing praise, it is tempting to single out Cline's magnificent percussion, which ranges from the rolling boil of an Elvin Jones ...
| | Cairo Gang CD (2006)
Alligator songs
$9.05
| | Scandalous No Holding Back CD (2006)
Alligator album
$13.65
| | Daniel Lemma Morning Train CD (2007) (Import)
Alligator CD music
$22.35
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