The National - First Two Pages Of Frankenstein CD/LP/DLX LP
Anchored by evocative melodies and an enthralling lyrical narrative, "First Two Pages of Frankenstein" signals a thrilling new chapter in the band’s discography. The 11-song album was produced by The National at Long Pond Studios in upstate New York and features guest appearances by Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens.
The follow-up to 2019’s top five hit album "I Am Easy To Find", "First Two Pages of Frankenstein" was initially stalled while lead singer Matt Berninger navigated “a very dark spot where I couldn’t come up with lyrics or melodies at all, and that period lasted for over a year. Even though we’d always been anxious and argued quite a lot whenever we were working on a record, this was the first time it ever felt like maybe things really had come to an end.”
Instead, The National “managed to come back together and approach everything from a different angle, and because of that we arrived at what feels like a new era for the band,” according to guitarist/pianist Bryce Dessner, whose bandmates also include his brother Aaron (guitar/piano/bass) as well as brothers Scott Devendorf (bass, guitar) and Bryan Devendorf (drums).
"First Two Pages of Frankenstein" channels the group’s revitalized chemistry into a body of work that beautifully balances elegant musicality with the National’s more idiosyncratic impulses. Tracks such as Grease in Your Hair and Ice Machines were road-tested in 2022 before they were recorded, allowing the band to hone the material in real time (another song, Weird Goodbyes featuring Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, was released as a standalone track last August). “To me the power of this record has to do with the intentionality and structure of the music meeting with a lot of accidental magic,” says Aaron Dessner.
Swift duets with Berninger on the luminous The Alcott, continuing her recent string of collaborations with members of The National on her chart-topping albums folklore and evermore and Aaron Dessner’s Big Red Machine project. The song finds Berninger and Swift inhabiting the roles of a couple attempting to resurrect a troubled relationship, forging a finely drawn story nearly novelistic in scope. “It’s about two people with a long history returning to a place and trying to relive a certain moment in time,” says Berninger. “It’s got the feeling of a last-ditch effort to hold onto the relationship, but there’s a hint of something positive where you can see the beginnings of a reconnection.”
Tracklist:
1. Once Upon a Poolside [feat. Sufjan Stevens]
2. Eucalyptus
3. New Order T-Shirt
4. This Isn't Helping [feat. Phoebe Bridgers]
5. Tropic Morning News
6. Alien
7. The Alcott [feat. Taylor Swift]
8. Grease in Your Hair
9. Ice Machines
10. Your Mind is Not Your Friend [feat. Phoebe Bridgers]
11. Send for Me
About this product: this reissue is available on CD, LP and DLX LP formats.
The LP is pressed on black vinyl.
The DLX LP is pressed onred vinyl.