Just Announced The National at the Riverside Theater

The National’s eagerly anticipated fifth album High Violet doesn’t come out until May 11, but anyone who loves this increasingly popular indie-rock band has surely already heard the record, whether it’s via authorized streams or by less legal means. Either way, the hype machine is in full effect, and with good reason: High Violet can lay legitimate claim to being the band’s third excellent album in a row, fleshing out singer-songwriter Matt Berninger’s introspective and richly detailed vignettes with an anthemic, almost symphonic sweep on several tracks. It’s reminiscent of the leap U2 made with 1987’s The Joshua Tree, and many people are similarly betting on High Violet doing for The National what that record did for U2.

The band is certainly moving up to larger rooms these days, as evidenced by this morning’s announcement that The National will perform Aug. 4 at The Riverside Theater with The Antlers. Tickets are $24.50 and go on sale at noon Friday.