The Observer, April 22, 2005
Volume XXXVII, Issue 26
The National underwhelms with Alligator
Quiet and reserved, The National talks to you. You may not always be listening intently, but you'll still feel like The National means whatever it is saying.
The band, which just released its fourth album, Alligator, includes two sets of brothers to back lead singer Matt Beringer: drummer and Case graduate Bryan Devendorf, guitarist Scott Devendorf, bassist Aaron Dessner, and guitarist Bryce Dessner. Their music is, in a word, underwhelming, but little pieces save the album, and even go a little ways farther. A certain amount of unseen depth brings out the mello music. As a group, The National, which hails from Cincinnati, sounds unrefined and rough around the edges. The instrumentals are good, but the sound is reminiscent of a practice session, and never like a real performance. Listening to Alligator is almost like listening to the choruses of Modest Mouse, except a whole album of it. Every line sounds like it could be a chorus, each ending with just the right tone.
In songs such as "Looking for Astronauts" some Postal Service-esque electronics come through with light keyboard in the background. But then in the next song they channel U2's "With or Without You," and continue to channel U2's soft feel for a number of songs.
So the question is, how good is the music? Well, it is good. Not spectacular, but it will not turn you away. I would classify Alligator as good music to listen to when a friend leaves for college: perfect for chilling out to and thinking about life. Each song possesses a slightly different tone and would allow for reminiscing about a different memory.
It is Berninger's voice which really helps create the music's tone. Berninger has the ability to build strength in his voice and really intensify a song. No matter what the music behind him is, he defines the songs with a unique ability to talk directly to the listener – not in the way that Cake speaks, but with a smooth, honest delivery.
While not bad, the harmonies are just not the focal point of the album. The percussion actually stands out more than that of a normal band; the beats are really catchy, backed by pretty solid guitar. At moments without vocals, the guitar parts fill in nicely.
Overall, the music fits together. It's solid. My biggest issue is that, while there is nothing here to make me dislike Alligator, very little stands out as exceptional. The lyrics are only okay, and more than once go against my belief that no word should be repeated more than five times in a row, and no line should be repeated more than three times. Now, I still like songs that that do this, it just makes me think that they did not have anything else to say. In some of the songs here, I think that is the case.
All in all, The National does the mellow sounds well, but in total, I only found two or three songs on Alligator that I would ever really listen to.
