Artist The National

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The National

For going on three albums now, The National has lurked on the cusp of big things, but last year’s High Violet seems to push the New York band as close to the precipice as possible. The highly anticipated follow-up to 2007’s critically acclaimed Boxer is another masterful study in atmosphere, from the slowly simmering (“Afraid Of Everyone,” “Runaway”) to more jittery rock songs (“Bloodbuzz, Ohio,” “Conversation 16”). The famously contentious band endured another tumultuous writing process for High Violet, but the strain produced an engrossing album. The National truly blooms live, so expect even its moodier songs to have surprising forcefulness.

Updated 04/12/2011