The National – Alligator (2005)

Back in 2005 when this album came out I had no idea that this band even existed. I only found The National after their following album, Boxer, which was an international success. To many of my friends, however, Alligator remains the most important The National album. I don't really agree, because I think the songs and sounds on Boxer and on High Violet beat this album, but nevertheless, I think Alligator is the first seriously amazing The National album. I bought the album on vinyl after I had gotten acquainted with Boxer that my friend who worked in a record shop recommended to me earlier. Alligator has the same kind of melancholic mood as the later two albums, but it still sounds quite raw. The guitars sound like normal guitars without effects and the bass is in a leading role making the album sound more rhythmic than melodic.



The National can be included in the genre called post-punk revival that gets its influences from early 80's dark post-punk. Unlike many other bands in this genre in the early 00's, The National really knows how to tone their songs down a bit. There's menacing feeling to many of their songs and despair that gets deep inside of you. On Alligator, there are some more upbeat songs as well, but it still sounds darker than many other guitar-driven albums of the time.

Album's first track, Secret Meeting, has a great line "I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain", which I've thought about quite a lot. It's a great way of putting the thoughts that you are not in control of but that you think about whenever you are left alone with your thoughts. Karen is one of my favourite songs on this album. The verse is quite light and easygoing, but when the song turns to chorus the mood changes to dark and melancholic. This kind of drama in the songs is something that The National really knows how to do well.

Looking for Astronauts was the first song on this album that really caught my attention. It repeats itself a lot so it will stay in your mind as an earworm for quite some time. I guess that's why it was the first song I really remembered from this album. Now, later on, it's not really that exciting of a song. My absolute favourite song from this album is the quiet and beautiful Daughters of the Soho Riots. Matt Berninger's vocals sound absolutely brilliant in this song. I think he's at his best when he tones his voice down a bit. His deep baritone gets under your skin. He has an amazing ability to make you believe every word he says. In the last song of the album, Mr. November, the style is completely opposite, but it has the same effect on me. In the loud parts of this song, Berninger screams loudly making an air of anguish. This song works brilliantly live.

And of course I need to share a music video with this post as well. I chose the song All the Wine, because I haven't mentioned that song yet. This song sounds a lot like the contemporary of The National, Bloc Party. The video is simple and looks like a video that has been made while the band wasn't that famous yet. It's just a video of a man drinking wine all around town and driving a car.

I will, no doubt, write much more about The National with their other albums. More about their live performances, more about their effect on my life etc. This post seems to have focused more on individual songs, but I just want to say that The National is one of the bands that I didn't really fully appreciate from the first moment I heard them , but that has since become one of the most meaningful bands to me.

Listen to the album on Spotify.