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Rating: What makes this album a precious gem? A few elements mixed excellently. An exceptional baritone voice in its clarity and intensity, a soundscape in service of the voice that at times may seem minimalist but is always elegant and evocative, a melancholic mood that captures you and cradles you throughout the entire listening experience, somehow mitigating the lyrics which are certainly emotionally impactful and could appear more "desperate" with a different sonic solution, a rare ability to "create images" through music, a top-notch level of writing (lyrics and music). For those who love guitar rock (I love it too), there might sometimes be a need for an adrenaline rush, but after several listens, you simply realize it's not necessary: everything is perfect. Each composition is a painting that, despite a certain homogeneity of approach, succeeds in leading us to different shores. It is difficult to appreciate some of the songs more than others: the initial and grand "Fake Empire" with lyrics of dizzying depth, and the memorable "Squallor Victoria" or "Start a War" (once again with lyrics of painful and poignant melancholy) or the piano ballad "Racing like a pro." Or the finale with the "bang" of the sweet and delicate "Gospel," impossible to forget after listening, offering emotions and sensations beyond any possible critical analysis. But it would indeed be unfair to all the other equally powerful and incisive pieces to promote some "better" ones. The National have often been labeled as yet another echo of the "narrative" and atmospheres of Joy Division. The inspiration and debt to that type of wave is undeniable, just as the personality and uniqueness of the Canadian band is undeniable, which with this work has signed a masterpiece destined to remain long in the minds and veins of those who manage to get swept away by these calm yet so vibrant rhythms.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Fake Empire (03:25)
stay out super late tonight
picking apples, making pies
put a little something in our lemonade
and take it with us
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
tip-toe through our shiny city
with our diamond slippers on
Do our gay ballet on ice
bluebirds on our shoulders
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
turn the light out say goodnight
no thinking for a little while
let’s not try to figure out
everything at once
it’s hard to keep track of you
falling through the sky
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
02 Mistaken for Strangers (03:30)
You have to do it running but you do everything that they ask you to
cause you don’t mind seeing yourself in a picture
as long as you look faraway, as long as you look removed
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters
You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends
when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights
arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under
oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wanna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults
Make up something to believe in your heart of hearts
so you have something to wear on your sleeve of sleeves
so you swear you just saw a feathery woman
carry a blindfolded man through the trees
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters
You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends
when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights
arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under
oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wanna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults
You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends
when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights
arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under
oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wanna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults
03 Brainy (03:18)
I’ve been dragging around from the end of your coat for two weeks
everywhere you go is swirling, everything you say has water under it
You know I keep your fingerprints in a pink folder in the middle of my table
you’re the tall kingdom I surround
think I better follow you around
You might need me more than you think you will
come home in the car you love, brainy brainy brainy
I’ve been draggin around from the end of your coat for two weeks
you keep changing you’re fancy fancy mind every time I decide to let it go
I was up all night again, boning up and reading the American dictionary
you’ll never believe me what I found
think I better follow you around
You might need me more than you think you will
come home in the car you love, brainy brainy brainy
you might need me more than you think you will
come home in the car you love, brainy brainy brainy
04 Squalor Victoria (02:59)
Underline everything, I’m a professional in my beloved white shirt
Underline everything, I’m a professional in my beloved white shirt
I'm going down among the saints.
Raise our heavenly glasses to the heavens! Squalor Victoria! Squalor Victoria!
Raise our heavenly glasses to the heavens! Squalor Victoria! Squalor Victoria!
Out of my league, I have birds in my sleeves and I wanna rush in with the fools
Out of my league, I have birds in my sleeves and I wanna rush in with the fools
Raise our heavenly glasses to the heavens! Squalor Victoria! Squalor Victoria!
Raise our heavenly glasses to the heavens! Squalor Victoria! Squalor Victoria!
I'm going down among the saints.
3:30 in the last night for you to save this
You’re zoning out, zoning out, zoning out, zoning out
3:30 in the last night for you to save this
You’re zoning out, zoning out, zoning out, zoning out
This isn’t working, you, my middlebrow fuck-up
05 Green Gloves (03:39)
Falling out of touch with all my
friends are somewhere getting wasted,
hope they’re staying glued together,
I have arms for them.
Take another sip of them,
it floats around and takes me over
like a little drop of ink in a glass of water
Get inside their clothes
with my green gloves
watch their videos, in their chairs.
Get inside their beds
with my green gloves
Get inside their heads, love their loves.
Cinderella through the room
I glide and swan cause I’m the best slow dancer
in the universe
Falling out of touch with all my
friends are somewhere getting wasted,
hope they’re staying glued together,
I have arms for them.
Get inside their clothes
with my green gloves
watch their videos, in their chairs.
Get inside their beds
with my green gloves
Get inside their heads, love their loves.
Now I hardly know them
and I’ll take my time
I’ll carry them over, and I’ll make them mine.
Get inside their clothes
with my green gloves
watch their videos, in their chairs.
Get inside their beds
with my green gloves
Get inside their heads, love their loves.
06 Slow Show (04:08)
Standing at the punch table swallowing punch
can’t pay attention to the sound of anyone
a little more stupid, a little more scared
every minute more unprepared
I made a mistake in my life today
everything I love gets lost in drawers
I want to start over, I want to be winning
way out of sync from the beginning
I wanna hurry home to you
put on a slow, dumb show for you
and crack you up
so you can put a blue ribbon on my brain
god I’m very, very frightened
I’ll overdo it
Looking for somewhere to stand and stare
I leaned on the wall and the wall leaned away
Can I get a minute of not being nervous
and not thinking of my dick
My leg is sparkles, my leg is pins
I better get my shit together, better gather my shit in
You could drive a car through my head in five minutes
from one side of it to the other
I wanna hurry home to you
put on a slow, dumb show for you
and crack you up
so you can put a blue ribbon on my brain
god I’m very, very frightened
I’ll overdo it
You know I dreamed about you
for twenty-nine years before I saw you
You know I dreamed about you
I missed you for
for twenty-nine years
You know I dreamed about you
for twenty-nine years before I saw you
You know I dreamed about you
I missed you for
for twenty-nine years
07 Apartment Story (03:32)
Be still for a second while I try and try to pin your flowers on
La la la la
Can you carry my drink I have everything else
I can tie my tie all by myself
I’m getting tied; I’m forgetting why
Oh we’re so disarming darling, everything we did believe
is diving diving diving diving off the balcony
Tired and wired we ruin too easy
sleep in our clothes and wait for winter to leave
Hold ourselves together with our arms around the stereo for hours
La la la la la la la
While it sings to itself or whatever it does
when it sings to itself of its long lost loves
I’m getting tied; I’m forgetting why
Tired and wired we ruin too easy
sleep in our clothes and wait for winter to leave
but I’ll be with you behind the couch when they come
on a different day just like this one
We’ll stay inside til somebody finds us
do whatever the TV tells us
stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz for days
We’ll stay inside til somebody finds us
do whatever the TV tells us
stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz
so worry not
all things are well
we’ll be alright
we have our looks and perfume
stay inside til somebody finds us
do whatever the TV tells us
stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz
so worry not
all things are well
we’ll be alright
we have our looks and perfume on
08 Start a War (03:16)
We expected something, something better than before
We expected something more.
Do you really think you can just put it in a safe behind a painting,
lock it up, and leave?
Do you really think you can just put it in a safe behind a painting,
lock it up, and leave?
Walk away now, and you're gonna start a war.
Whatever went away, I'll get it over now.
I'll get money, I'll get funny again.
Whatever went away, I'll get it over now.
I'll get money, I'll get funny again.
Walk away now, and you're gonna start a war.
We expected something, something better than before
We expected something more.
You were always weird but I never had to hold you by the edges like I do now.
You were always weird but I never had to hold you by the edges like I do now.
Walk away now, and you're gonna start a war.
Whatever went away, I'll get it over now.
I'll get money, I'll get funny again.
Whatever went away, I'll get it over now.
I'll get money, I'll get funny again.
Walk away now, and you're gonna start a war.
Walk away now, and you're gonna start a war.
09 Guest Room (03:18)
They’re gonna send us to prison for jerks,
for having vague ideas of the way to turn each other on again.
They’re gonna send us to prison for jerks.
They’ll find us here.
Here, here in the guest room,
Where we throw money at each other and cry.
Oh, my.
We miss being ruffians, going wild and bright,
in the corners of front yards, getting in and out of cars.
We miss being deviants.
They’ll find us here.
Here, here in the guest room,
Where we throw money at each other and cry.
Oh, my.
We can’t stay here.
We’re starting to stay the same.
We can’t stay here.
We can’t stay this way.
(ooooh)
Just tie your woman to your wrist,
Give her room to tie the other.
(ooooh)
They’ll find us here.
Here, here in the guest room,
Where we throw money at each other and cry.
Oh, my.
10 Racing Like a Pro (03:24)
You’re pink, you’re young, you’re middle-class.
They say it doesn’t matter.
Fifteen blue shirts and womanly hands;
You’re shooting up the ladder.
Your mind is racing like a pro now,
Oh my god it doesn’t mean a lot to you.
One time you were a glowing young ruffian,
Oh my god it was a million years ago.
Sometimes you get up and bake a cake or something.
Sometimes you stay in bed.
Sometimes you go la di da di da di da da,
'Til your eyes roll back into your head.
Your mind is racing like a pro now,
Oh my god it doesn’t mean a lot to you.
One time you were a glowing young ruffian,
Oh my god it was a million years ago.
You’re dumbstruck baby.
You’re dumbstruck baby, now you know.
You’re dumbstruck baby.
You’re dumbstruck baby, now you know.
Your mind is racing like a pro now,
Oh my god it doesn’t mean a lot to you.
One time you were a glowing young ruffian,
Oh my god it was a million years ago.
You’re dumbstruck baby.
You’re dumbstruck baby, now you know.
You’re dumbstruck baby.
You’re dumbstruck baby, now you know.
You’re dumbstruck baby.
11 Ada (04:03)
Ada don’t talk about reasons why you don’t want to talk about reasons
why you don’t wanna talk
Now that you got everybody you consider sharp
all alone. all together, all together in the dark
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air
Ada put the sounds of your house in a song
try to be speechless for a minute
If you think you gonna faint go out in the hallway
Let them all have your neck
Ada don’t stay in the lake too long
it lives alone and it barely knows you
It’ll have a nervous breakdown and fall
into a thousand pieces around you
Stand inside an empty tuxedo with grapes in my mouth
waiting for Ada
Ada hold onto yourself by the sleeves
I think everything counts a little more than we think
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air
Ada Ada Ada Ada
Ada I can hear the sound of your laugh through the wall
Ada don’t talk about reasons why you don’t want to talk about reasons
why you don’t wanna talk
Now that you got everybody you consider sharp
all alone. all together, all together in the dark
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air
Ada Ada Ada Ada
Ada I can hear the sound of your laugh through the wall
Ada Ada Ada Ada
Ada, I’ve been hoping you know your way around
12 Gospel (04:29)
(1, 2, 3, 4...)
I got two armfuls of magazines for you,
I’ll bring 'em over.
So hang your holiday rainbow lights in the garden.
Hang your holiday rainbow lights in the garden and I’ll--
I’ll bring a nice icy drink to you.
Let me come over, I can waste your time I’m bored.
Invite me to the war every night of the summer,
And we’ll play G.I. blood, G.I. blood.
We’ll stand by the pool;
We’ll throw out our golden arms.
Darling, can you tie my string?
Killers are calling on me.
My angel face is falling,
Feathers are falling on my feet.
Darling, can you tie my string?
Killers are calling on me.
Stay near your-- stay near your television.
Set it up outside,
and hang your holiday rainbow lights in the garden.
Hang your holiday rainbow lights in the garden and I’ll--
I’ll bring a nice icy drink to you.
Let me come over, I can waste your time I’m bored.
Invite me to the war every night of the summer,
And we’ll play G.I. blood, G.I. blood.
We’ll stand by the pool;
We’ll throw out our golden arms.
Darling, can you tie my string?
Killers are calling on me.
My angel face is falling,
Feathers are falling on my feet.
My angel face is falling,
Feathers are falling on my feet.
Darling, can you tie my string?
Killers are calling on me.
Darling, can you tie my string?
Killers are calling on me.
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