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ACL: The National
It’s tough to pull off a good, solid mope on a hot stage at ACL, but the National did their level best. The Brooklyn band has draw comparisons to Nick Cave (mostly thanks to Matt Berninger’s defeated-sounding baritone) and the Tindersticks (again, the baritone, and Pamda Newsome’s violin), but their sound is more indie rock — songs in square 4/4 time, big, strummy buildups, that sort of thing.
Opening with the wonderful “Start a War,” Berninger tries to salvage a relationship. “Whatever went away, I’ll get it over now/ I’ll get money, I’ll get funny again / walk away now and you’re gonna start a war.” Bummer.
Kind of magnificent in a hide-the-knives sort of way, but tough to pull off at a sweltering festival. Their songs had a tendency to run a bit bland, in spite of Berninger’s nifty croon and his staggering resemblance to Spoon’s Britt Daniel. But vaguely generic songs such as “Secret Meeting” absolutely came alive when Newsome’s violin was thrown into the mix, his lines soaring around the dueling guitars. “I’m so sorry for everything,” Berninger moaned. As the violin crashed against the drums, you believed it.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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