Good news indie fans, StubHub are now offering The National tickets, meaning you can catch the ever insightful American Indie band live! Considered one of the most under-rated gems of the twenty-first century, The National aren’t your typically ambitious, headline-grabbing, rock band but instead the cool and collected band in the background, simply happy in making good music! With the band once more playing the circuit, buy your tickets for The National now, here at StubHub!
Consisting of frontman Matt Berninger, brothers Scott and Bryan Devandorf (Respectively on bass and drums), and twins guitarist Bryce and guitarist/keyboardist Aaron Dessner, the band formed during their college years. In ninety-one Berninger met Scott Davandorf during their stint in a graphic design program at the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP College. The two originally performed in the band Nancy, a band which throughout its five years of activity had only released one album. The band broke up when the majority of the band moved to Brooklyn. Scott and his brother Bryan, along with the Dessnor twins had been childhood friends, having grown up playing together in several bands, as such The National was formed in ninety-nine and the band has remained together ever since! Their humble beginning even meant that many of the members continued working full-time jobs while performing for free! During this time the band had a regular slot in the highly regarded, Luna Lounge, a New York venue notable for bringing names such as Elliott Smith to the fore! Despite the name of their band being The National their official website stands as americanmary.com, the name of one of The National’s first ever songs!
In two thousand and one, The National released their eponymously titled debut album! “The National” was received with a fairly lukewarm response however, critics found The National’s balance between a country-pop aesthetic coupled with Berninger’s dark lyrical musings surprisingly compelling. Pitchfork wrote of The National’s frontman “Berninger hasn’t found a distinct voice yet, in his singing or his lyrics, but I get the feeling he very well could someday soon.” The National’s following album “Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers” received a similar reception, with Berninger’s lyrical exploration of loneliness and love, along with the band’s experimentation of a more complex sound all improving on the album’s predecessor! Song’s such as “Cardinal Song” and “Patterns of Fairytales” are as harrowing as the band get, with Berninger’s lyrics twisting over time.
In 2005, the band released the third and break out album “Alligator”. Their first album under new record label Beggars Banquet, The National received critical acclaim for “Alligator” across the board! An aggressive tinged album than previous ventures, The National finally found their footing, as Berninger’s honest and frank lyrics melded with the band’s maturity and complexity perfectly! The band themselves admit their surprise, when they found themselves wanting to listen to the album once it was finished! The album proved especially significant to Aaron Dessnor who after crashing his sister’s car, suffered a collapsed lung and back giving out! In regards to the Dessnor commented “We really took chances. Matt took chances with his range. We were writing more instinctually and found that we were more musically sure of ourselves,”!
Now with over six albums to their name, The National has certainly proved that a band can make it big through sheer perseverance and hard work! So waste not a moment more reading, and buy your The National tickets now, here at StubHub!
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