The National
Trouble Will Find Me
Reviewed by Stephen Krock
As a listener of music, a watcher of films, a devourer of television, a player of video games, there is nothing worse than something that is… okay. If a song is so outrageously bad, at least it can elicit a nice, little chuckle. Some sort of reaction. ANY reaction. That is what art is meant to do. Thus, it is with a heavy heart that I say The National’s Trouble Will Find Me is… fine.
The album’s second track, “Demons,” sums it up best when frontman Matt Berninger croons, “When I walk into a room, I do not light it up.” Indeed. Though, while Trouble Will Find Me does not light up a room, it does give it a dim glow. You may not want to try to read by that light, but you could get around without stumbling. It is certainly not a bad album. Far from it. Listen closely to the arrangements; they’re really all quite lovely. It’s just that when they go for the dismal, which is a good 99.99% of the time, The National doesn’t seem quite dreary enough. The mood is grey and drizzly throughout and Berninger’s melancholy baritone voice does little to liven things up. Which very well may be the point, but it does not succeed in execution. I found myself down and morose while listening, not because of the dark lyrics or the tone, but because I was bored.
The sparks of life, however, are great when you find them. Berninger’s voice is reminiscent of Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave. Paired with the angst ridden backdrop, he really does evoke a nostalgic longing for a time when feelings, even bad ones, were fresh and exciting. These songs really do belong in a John Hughes movie. And Berninger’s voice can do a lot more than he lets on. In the aforementioned “Demons,” he sings in an even lower register which really gives character to the song. “Humiliation” is also a fantastic song that shows the band burning on all cylinders. The beat is more up tempo, but the cloudy skies and The National’s distinct identity are still present. It is by far the most interesting on the album, but by the time you get to it, it’s too little, too late.
Berninger was quoted in an interview as choosing the band name, The National, because it was simple, “benign and meaningless.” The band itself has proven to be none of those things, Trouble Will Find Me walks a fine line.
Rating: Semi-obnoxious
