RELAX – IT’S AN INDIE ROCK ALBUM, PEOPLE
FITSNews – August 3, 2007 – While we wish we could take credit for it ourselves, a lot of our indie rock street cred (i.e. having favorite bands most people have never heard of before) comes from having an incredibly diverse network of uber-hipsters scattered across the country. One of these song sages – our friend Bradley up at Publick House – hooked us up recently with another great recommendation, an album called Alligator by a band called The National.
We’ll admit, The National’s lead singer Matt Berninger has a distinctive baritone that takes a little getting used to. But on so many of Alligator’s tunes, it just fits perfectly. Song-writing and instrumentally-speaking, the band is as talented as any we’ve heard in awhile, invoking guitar tones reminescent of the early U2 days meshed with the experimental willingness of bands like Pavement or one of our other new favorites, The Shins.
Alligator boasts several undercover hits including the faux-misogynistic “Karen,” up-tempo pop pieces like “Lit Up” or “Abel,” reserved masterpieces “The Geese of Beverly Road” and “Daughters of the Soho Riots,” as well as our personal favorite “All the Wine,” the opening of which will probably make you think you’re back in 1980 for a split second listening to U2′s debut album Boy. The National just released a new album – Boxer – earlier this year, but do yourself a favor and pick up Alligator first.
