Caveat: if you’re looking for songs to lift your spirits, look elsewhere than on this ninth album by America’s indie rock heroes. Eternal taciturn, the lyricist and singer Matt Berninger has a voice more beautiful and sad than ever, singing the aftershocks of the earthquake of a love breakup (on Eucalyptus, among others) imagined in doubt about the future of The National. Thus, apart from a few rock punctures that break up the monotony — we will especially retain Tropic Morning News, its verses and its chorus turning non-stop like a carousel — the rest flows painfully over simple and pretty melodies, benefiting from an impeccably designed production, rich in electronic atmospheres and orchestrations of well-dosed strings. The group is counting on the support of prestigious guests: Sufjan Stevens on the soft Once Upon a Poolside opening, Phoebe Bridgers on the two best (This Isn’t Helping And Your Mind Is Not Your Friend) and Taylor Swift on The Alcott. In concert in Montreal on August 5, on the bill of Osheaga.
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