High Violet Turns 10

It’s 2010 and The National is still ascending in stardom. Well, you could probably even say the same for 2020, which is absolutely remarkable for this band, but there was a time when they weren’t a sure thing. Their third record, 2005’s Alligator, was a critical success and jumped them a few rungs higher than where they had previously been. Then Boxer came out in 2007 and raised The National’s profile to a place where they had come out with two excellent albums in a row and had people thinking they could be the real deal. High Violet is what cemented them as a mainstay, proving the great music that had come prior was no fluke. It’s a grand, majestic album – more opulent in orchestral arrangement than they ever had used before, yet employing production that gives you the feeling of being stuck in the mud. And even though this album etched The National in ink as indie rock royalty, High Violet may not even be in their top three, four or five records. As it's said, sometimes it's more about the journey than the destination.

Personally, I got into Boxer and Alligator simultaneously as soon as college began in 2007 because they had just performed on Late Night and it was spectacular. So I had several years to get into their back discography before High Violet was released in 2010, and I was so pumped for it. I loved the album cover right off the bat – all that color with a multitude of words that appeared to be indecipherable … but is actually from Pope Pius XI in 1854.

And now, on to the music!

1. “Terrible Love”

More muted than the alternate version – the superior version – that later appeared on the “Expanded” version of the album and features a raucous ending that ended up becoming a staple in their encores going on a decade running, this starter initially was disappointing after I heard it played live on Fallon before it came out. I think they blew it with the lead-in to the pre-chorus and the choruses. It sounds a little too reined in, especially after having heard the live version first. So, strangely this version of the song is my least favorite, but it introduces the color palette (no pun intended) of the album, that stuck-in-the-mud feel. And though specific colors will be called out later on in the record, I kind of feel like the reverberations of the rhythm guitar in the background are like the words of color that appear to be floating out of the smokestack on the cover. I love the cooing harmonies around “Its quiet company” and the lyrics are pretty dark: “It’s a terrible love and I’m walking with spiders” ... “It takes an ocean not to break” ... “But I won’t follow you into the rabbit hole / I said I would be then I saw your shivered bones.” Wrong version included in the album aside, it’s all in all a good mood-setter for the album, and pretty cool that a lead track ends up becoming an encore favorite that often closes shows for them.

2. “Sorrow”

That high-hat tickling! The drumming continues to be prolific on this record. It’s a very simple song, with the most on-the-nose title in all of The National’s discography. It’s down and dour and morose, and all begins and ends with lead singer Matt Berninger’s melancholic vocal delivery. “I don’t wanna get over you.” Doesn’t get any more to-the-point than that. Again, love the harmonies at the end and the walking down of the piano as the song reaches its conclusion – not the only track here that features this kind of musical instrumentation. With lyrics like “I live in a city sorrow built / It’s in my honey, it’s in my milk,” this band could have easily parodied itself. It speaks to the power of the song and The National overall that it would have been a LOL moment if not for how serious it’s handled and how much credibility they’ve built up for it.

3. “Anyone’s Ghost”

Another track where the drumming is very metronomic. I love the four toms before the verses, setting the tone going forward. Another swirling track where the band puts you in a blender and spits you out of the tornado by the end of it I also love the longing single-note guitar pings during the chorus. “You said it was not inside my heart, it was” is a relatable lyric for anyone whose true feelings were questioned, and “I don’t want anybody else” is similar to “I don’t wanna get over you” from “Sorrow,” another straightforward yet heart-rending admission. Finally, I enjoy when Matt sings “I told my friends not to worry” in his higher register before the final chorus in concert, which you can hear on the record but comes across much clearer when he shouts on the stage. And, man, the strings on this album really pop.

4. “Little Faith”

This song begins and ends very differently from anything they had done previously, with what sounds like static on the radio being manipulated and the signal never coming clear before the ringing acoustic notes and piano come in. It’s a little jarring at first, but soon settles in to a fairly classic mid-tempo National tune. The bass is pretty evident in this one if you listen closely enough, particularly in the verses, and among all the members of this band I’ve said the fewest words of praise for the bassist (Scott Devendorf), so I feel like I should mention that here – and it’s warranted. The band was now firmly living in New York after transplanting from Cincinnati, and you can hear it in both the lyrics and how their music has changed. Also, we’ve got references to saints, nuns and priests, which on one hand hearkens back to song title “Gospel,” the last track on Boxer, but also thematically to the lyrics of that song (“We’ll play GI blood …” … “We’ll play nuns vs. priests …”) Those sound like some, uh, fun games.

5. “Afraid of Everyone”

This song is a powerhouse. Again, I heard this one first on a late-night TV show, though this time the recorded version matches it very well. Yes, that is Sufjan Stevens’ haunting voice in the background. This one builds up and pummels you by the end of it. We have Matt’s lyrics referencing being a new father, like a survivor in a zombie movie with bug eyes, head on a swivel, making sure he pre-anticipates every scenario (“With my kid on my shoulders, I try / Not to hurt anybody I like”). The drums pulsate when they come in just over a minute into the song. Bryce’s guitar seizes in the background. The – whatever instrument that is – adds a layer of melancholia. And – finally – name-checking his 4th color of the song (another album-long theme), Matt goes off the deep end, shouting “Yellow voices swallowing my soul, soul soul …” and the song burns in effigy. Chills, every time.

6. “Bloodbuzz Ohio”

The National may never have had a 'hit,' per se, but you can hear the makings of one in this song. It just sounds elegant and gigantic. The drumming is booming and insistent. The lyrics (sensing a theme here?) portray a sense of hopelessness and aimlessness; “I still owe money to the money to the money I owe” … “The floors are falling out from everybody I know.” Love the swell of every instrument at the ends of the choruses and the short instrumental break before the final pre-chorus. And the outro is symphonic: horns, strings, guitar, piano and drums just blend together perfectly and get everyone so hyped every time it’s played live. The National were good before horns, and they had them on prior albums, but especially hearing them on this track and in its instrumental outro, it’s clear just how important and integral they are to the group. They’re employed perfectly every time and the band would not be the same without them. What is a bloodbuzz, exactly? It doesn’t really matter.

7. “Lemonworld”

A strange one. They said they went through tons of versions for this track before recording this version, and even then they weren’t sure if it was quite right. It’s kind of the quintessential low-stakes The National song that doesn’t build up and envelop you but retains a high level of musicianship with humorous quips, sung with a tinge of sadness: “So happy I was invited / Gave me a reason to get out of the city” … “It’ll take a better war to kill a college man to me” … “Living and dying in New York, it means nothing to me.” It’s not quite as dark or evil as other tracks, but there’s something about the chorus – which makes no sense unless you hear Matt’s explanation – that is very comforting. And then you have “Lay me on the table, put flowers in my mouth, and we can say that we invented a summer-loving torture party.” Um, sure? Just lean in and enjoy it.

8. “Runaway”

Slow and steady build. Not as dense, instrumentally, as other tracks on here and a little repetitive, but it’s gorgeous. Like the deliberate guitar arpeggio lines and the horns that come in and out of the background throughout. This song is like the musical equivalent of running slow-motion in a rain storm, if someone were ever to do that for some reason.

9. “Conversation 16”

Love this one. It’s in the running for best track on the album. The start is great, with four reverberating guitar chords before Matt chimes in, unsuspectingly. The lyrics are ace here, a childish brooding that you may connect with more than you’d like to admit (“I was afraid I’d eat your brains cause I’m evil”). I don’t know what the title means exactly, but certain lines in the song make it sound like he’s having another version of the same conversation with his partner - or even himself - where he’s apologizing, pleading, hoping. The drumming on this song is inventive and the bass is noticeably groovy. (Hey, another bass shoutout!) I also love the second layer of instruments that enter when the second verse comes in, the pummeling drumline before the choruses start and what sounds like a choir of ghosts during the chorus as well. Leaving the Silver City now...

10. “England”

This just sounds like a piece of HBO prestige television in song form. It’s elegant and elegiac. The strings somehow put you right in London, somewhere I’ve never even been before. Love the buildup to the second half of the song, and “Someone send a runner through the weather that I’m under for the feeling that I lost today” is one of my favorite lines on the record. It’s a ridiculous request, of course, but one you sometimes wish could come true. The song - and that line - begin as if Matt’s hungover and waking up with the sun in his face. By the time he gets to “‘Cause they’re desperate to entertain!” the sun has set and he’s ready to rage again. And that line always makes me think of Silvio from Seinfeld, saying “Love me, want me, shower me with kisses!” 😂 Despite going huge, the song never feels like it’s going to teeter over... they just have this ability to control chaos really well. Finally, the chugging guitars and lovely strings take us home.

11. “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks”

Another strange song title, but when you hear “All the very best of us string ourselves up for love” it all comes together. Another one of my favorite lyrics, and maybe their most relatable one of all. Love the piano walking down in a line, a little bit of a callback to “Sorrow.” Live, they really make it in to a spectacle. For a while, after a raucous encore, they would unplug their instruments and play this acoustically - even in an arena venue - and have the audience sing along with them as if they were part of the band. Again, I’m not entirely sure what he means, but I believe him when he yelps “I’ll explain everything to the geeks!” at the end. (And, yes, for those counting at home, they now have songs about geese and geeks.) The strings are gorgeous and I love the respite before the drums come back in again and drive us to the end. It kind of mirrors the first track – not as intense, but a little more subdued than some of the goings on in between the beginning and end of the album.

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As mentioned, The National have only continued to skyrocket in stardom from this point forward, releasing three more critically acclaimed albums, making songs for Bob’s Burgers and even working on a prospective TV pilot. As of now, this album basically marks the halfway point of their entire career as a band. High Violet may not be their best album, but it's the album that solidified The National as The National, and us fans should be grateful for that. It may be closest to the purest distillation of what The National is as a whole, and it clearly shows why they have come to be beloved by so many.