Picked up The National’s newest effort today and it’s likely their best yet. “High Violet” has been getting pretty high marks around the nets today and to help celebrate both the release of this great new album and also the prospect of getting to see them live again this summer, the band has released a new video for the song “Bloodbuzz Ohio”. The video is a little uninspired, but it fits with the mood of the song pretty well. Which, by the way, is just so hard not to close your eyes and just revel in. You can see and listen below…

One of my favorite bands of the last couple of years is slated to release their newest LP, High Violet on May 11th. If you don’t already own a copy of any of The National’s previous efforts (particularly Boxer or Cherry Tree), do yourself and get familiar with the warm tones, catchy tunes and crisp sounds in anticipation for the new record.

Or just as good, check out the performance displayed last night on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on which the Brooklyn Quintet rocked out to their new record with the opening track entitled “Terrible Love:”

While The National was performing good music across the street, this is as close as I got to the action at the Target Center: Beyoncé’s bike.

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Last night while 15,000 people were watching Beyonce do her thing at Target Center in Minneapolis, a smaller (but I’m sure more devoted) crowd gathered across the street at First Avenue and were treated to an enthralling set by The National. Opening with the tenatively titled “Runaway” (see “National Week Part 1″), the show started with this new, slow burning material and was followed by tracks largely drawn from the bands last two releases, Boxer and Alligator. An increasingly animated Matt Beringer was a treat to watch culminating in his singing from the upper tier of stairs during “Mr. November”. Padma Newsome added some terrific flourishes of violin (and other instruments), while the two man horn section proved themselves absolutely indispensable. The National prove that this is a band hitting it’s stride after five (six?) records, and are only on the way up.

Kudos to the sound board helmsman as the mix and volume level in the legendary First Avenue club was absolutely pitch perfect. The aforementioned musical additions to the band were inserted wonderfully without ever missing a beat or a sound cue. The music enveloped the crowd phenomenally but sans the ringing ear (tinnitus) syndrome as the exits filled.

Before said exit, the band really brought the house down with an exceptional encore. Typically when a band plays unreleased material as their encore the crowd leaves with a vague sense of disappointment at not getting the opportunity to sing along and really rock out for the final minutes of their experience. Not so with The National as they took to the stage with their new tune “Ohio” and finished up with a much more intense version of “About Today.”

Killer show.

SET:
The Runaway (new song) / Start a War / Mistaken for Strangers / Brainy / Secret Meeting / Baby, We’ll Be Fine / Slow Show / Squalor Victoria / ?? (new song) / Abel / All the Wine / Racing Like a Pro / Ada / Apartment Story / Green Gloves / Fake Empire

ENCORE: Blood Buzz, Ohio (new song) / Mr. November / About Today

I thought it appropriate to dedicate this week to The National as they’re coming to town for a First Avenue show Thursday night. I would have to say this is the the one album I am most looking forward to, whenever they decide to finish it and release it.
First up a new song live from Q TV, as yet untitled. They don’t need silly song titles. They’re The National.