The Musical Concern
The National
Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers
(October 6, 2009 – Brassland)

There’s an old line about Great Writers having the courage to pen the thoughts that mere mortals dare not speak. We see those thoughts on paper and flinch for a millisecond, and then we cheer them on. “Yeah, that’s it! Way to lay it out there!”

Take away the buffer of the page, though, and rather quickly things get considerably more uncomfortable. Imagine Cormac McCarthy at a dinner party…reciting passages from Blood Meridian. An esteemed author upon arrival, reviled misanthrope by party’s end.

In Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers, The National’s fifth album, singer/lyricist Matt Beringer continues to mouth words more comfortably left on paper, and this time with less satire and general humor than on the band’s 2005 breakthrough record, Alligator.

The Dessner brothers and the Devendorf brothers (four fifths of the band) provide a diverse musical tapestry ranging from drum machine and acoustic guitar to wall-of-sound, noise rock. Whether meandering fiddle or electric piano, the backdrop is spot-on and expertly fitted to Beringer’s ever improving baritone vocal.

Overall, Sad Songs is a step beyond its predecessor, The Boxer, but a step behind the phenomenal Alligator, on which we have well-drawn character pieces, self-deprecating jabs, and evocative, historical snapshots full of romance and color. While it’s well worth a listen, it’s also hard, from a lyrical perspective. With so little of the whimsical to guide you, it’s not unreasonable to mistake your ironic troubadour for a stalker as he sings “You own me, there’s nothing you can do/Lucky you.”

Beringer cites Leonard Cohen among his influences, and he does the Grand Old Crooner proud. But remember, Cohen has been known to write a novel when he’s not busy with songs. In Cohen’s Beautiful Losers, he plumbs the depths of addiction, depravity, and love. It’s a fantastic read, but I wouldn’t want to hear him sing it.

Or would I?

JH