Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 Requiem for the passing of youth May 21, 2008
The National stand on the outer fringes of youth and with 'Boxer' create a woozy requiem for all that is lost in what Berenger calls "the unmagnificent lives of adults". Darker, denser, more soulful album than 'Alligator', 'Boxer' stands as a magnificent whole, drawing the listener into its soundscapes and its world painted in impressionistic word pictures. Berenger's narrator is always distant, disconnected from the lives he narrates, even when he's so obviously the subject, a distance sometimes enforced, sometimes self-induced, sometimes frankly voyeuristic. Oftentimes he sees what's happening but can't break in to change things to make the happy ending he so earnestly desires.
From the outset there's a strongly percussive sound to 'Boxer' drums to the fore, moving things along with almost military precision. 'Fake Empire' sets out the stall for the album both musically and lyrically as Berenger observes the world around him sleepwalking through life, distracted from reality by life's little pleasures and entertainments. And as he shouts - don't you see what's happening? - the deepest pain comes from knowing that yes, people know just what's happening and have chosen this.
'Racing like a pro', one of two songs featuring Sufjan Stevens on piano looks on in disbelief at an old friend who's sold out' to the corporate world:
"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"
Elsewhere there are recurring themes of broken relationships, lovers who can't let go, lovers who've brought it on themselves, doomed one night stands. And drunkenness to dull the pain is everywhere, as in 'Apartment Story' he asks his lover - can we shut out the world? 'Gospel' quietly echoes that theme and closes the album in appropriately melancholy mood, with the percussion for once taking a back seat as an old friend asks - can I come over to your place, and can we keep the demons at bay together?
Here lurks introspection April 27, 2008
I'm somewhat aware that quite a few fine albums from the past year or two have slipped slyly under my Radio Detection and Ranging apparatus and I'm earnestly engaged in rectifying this sorry state of affairs. Boxer by The National was released almost one year ago but I have only grown to know and love this recording very recently. Here are twelve intense popular songs, richly crafted and featuring shimmering pianoforte, elegant percussion, soaring guitar soundscapes that underpin one of the most maudlin and melancholic voices in music. Here lurks introspection; hints of alienation, loneliness and urban gloom permeate the fairly subdued proceedings. The arrangements are upliftingly beautiful, the melodies take a while to appreciate but once under the skin, remain there like old 'n' loyal comrades. I'm always faintly reassured when I fail to `get' an album on first hearing; Boxer proves that repeated listens really do bear fruit with recordings of quality. I recommend.
sublime.....possibly the best album I own April 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I copped this recently, and at first I wondered what the fuss was about....it seemed dreary, indistinct and samey.
But given a few listens and it suddenley clicked
This is a sublime album....perfection from start to end....I actually love every track (especially Mistaken for strangers, which rocks) and have become a convert.
Possibly the best thing I've heard in 10 years, this is a vital album.
Bold, bruising and elegant - a superb album... February 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Having bought "Alligator", the previous album by The National, and being so unimpressed by it my (anonymous) Amazon review currently has 43 "unhelpful" markings next to it. I therefore completely ignored "Boxer" for several months after its release.
Only by catching a youtube clip of the band playing "Fake Empire" on the David Letterman show did I do one almighty double take. Was this really the same band? The sound was definitely the same, but my main objection of old (namely singer Matt Beringer's occasionally clumsy lyrics) had been wiped away in around 3 minutes of The National crafting a brilliant, understated, glorious and elegant hymn to...well, whatever "Fake Empire" is actually about (I confess, I don't know).
Was the album going to be as equally as impressive? Well it is. It's actually superb. I can't believe it's the work of the same band - or, as you might quite rightly argue, surely they've always been this great and I'm the one with cloth ears.
Either way, I strongly recommend "Boxer". It is an indie album where you should relish the pleasure in slowly understanding it. The songs are not immediate, in-your-face anthems. Each songs' highlight is so subtle you might miss it the first time around - but there is intelligent, well crafted musicianship here (particularly in Bryan Devendorf's impressive drumming - which is never fussy, but actually has a personality all of its own) and an impressive collection of well sequenced songs.
It's a rich, complex record - and that it was ignored in end of year polls by magazines such as Uncut and Mojo is a travesty. This is music you'll still be learning a year from now.
 tremendous February 10, 2008
very very very nearly 5 stars. This record is absolutely grand, highly recommended. Fake empire is quickly becomming my favourite song, ever!
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