The National: First Two Pages of Frankenstein (red vinyl, indie shop edition) [4AD]

Why you'll love it

This indie shop edition is pressed on red vinyl and mastered at Sterling Sound. NME gave the album a perfect five stars, and it scored 79 on Metacritic.

This edition

• Red vinyl
• Indie shop edition
• Mastered at Sterling Sound
• Stereo mix

About the album

The National very nearly didn't make this one. After the pandemic scattered the band, Matt Berninger hit a stretch where lyrics and melodies simply wouldn't come, and the turning point, Aaron Dessner says, was "Tropic Morning News," co-written with Berninger's wife Carin Besser and partly recorded live in Hamburg. Everything came alive again from there.

They produced it themselves at Dessner's Long Pond studio in the Hudson Valley, with extra sessions everywhere from Berlin to Buffalo and the London Contemporary Orchestra on strings. Sufjan Stevens adds his touch to "Once Upon a Poolside," Phoebe Bridgers sings on "This Isn't Helping" and "Your Mind Is Not Your Friend," and Taylor Swift duets with Berninger on "The Alcott." "New Order T-Shirt" and "Eucalyptus" are as tender and wry as anything they've written. The band teased it with a video of Berninger reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein on a piano bench, and "New Order T-Shirt" even came with a limited tee made with New Order.

The cover photo was taken by John Solimine, an illustrator who first met Berninger when they were both washing dishes in a Cincinnati restaurant. It's comforting to know that a career in indie rock can start at the sink; we've told our staff the same thing for years.

Also at Kops: more The National on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On 4AD (cat# 4AD0566LPE), the 2023 album.