THE NATIONAL
FIRST TWO PAGES OF FRANKENSTEIN
4AD
★★★★★
The National have doubled down on their collective strengths for studio album number nine. Stylistically, we’re on familiar ground, from Aaron Dessner’s chiming guitar figures and Bryan Devendorf’s skittering rhythms to Matt Berninger’s none-more-indie lyrical references on New Order T-Shirt. Taylor Swift pops up on pretty piano-led ballad The Alcott while the introspective Your Mind Is Not Your Friend featuring Phoebe Bridgers sees Matt return to picking at the scabs of his ever-present anxieties.