The National have indeed evermore-ed their folklore with their newest surprise album, Laugh Track. Full of emotionally compelling lyrics that continue to leave me speechless and maybe (definitely) crying on my couch for a few hours, it’s hard to believe frontman Matt Berninger ever had writer’s block. Partly because, in my experience, I usually come out of one it thinking what I’m writing is gibberish, but mostly because I’m astounded by the fact that ten records later, they’re still creating songs that are impossible to get sick of. (I bring it up every time, but I spent a whole month dealing with a terrible sinus infection, and the only song I could play was “England.” And no, I’m still not tired of it. Thank you for asking.)
The First Two Pages of Frankenstein was already sensational; heck, I called it the next best thing since High Violet, but Laugh Track finally puts “Weird Goodbye” ft. Bon Iver on an album, and now I feel compelled to say that this is the best one. But really, I shouldn’t have to pick through twins, do I? Because the albums function so devastatingly well together that choosing would be an abomination.
