Boxer
Label: Beggars Banquet
Rated: NONE
Media: CD
Format: Album
WorkNameSort: Boxer
These working-class Cincinnati friends formed the National in the late ’90s, when they discovered they had all relocated to Brooklyn. Things were relatively affordable then, and the gap between the haves and have-nots was less pronounced. To date, they have recorded five albums. Their talents have been strong if not overwhelming, taking pages from the playbooks of Leonard Cohen, Joy Division, Tindersticks, Nick Cave, Lee Hazlewood, Scott Walker and others of that brooding ilk. It’s a rich tradition and the perfect template for a guy like singer Matt Berninger, who writes acres of lyrics and sees himself twisting in the wind while his contemporaries chase money up the corporate ladder. Boxer aims for an elegant decadence, a misunderstood man’s journey through time and space, staring into the faces of friends with unanswerable question marks. Each song seems to ask, ‘Who are you?â?� Life’s dissonance leaks out with trumpets and pianos creating the illusion that these young men can afford the high life even as Berninger sneers: ‘I’m a professional in my beloved white shirt.â?� The sellouts are killing him and his dream of art triumphing over commerce seems younger and more naive as time passes.
Dare I tell you, Mr. Berninger, the future might be darker than you think? Your kind never gets out of Brooklyn alive. The answer: Cincinnati, where there’s a spot at the bar and no one expects you to live the life of a millionaire, and where ‘Artâ?� is the guy sitting next to you.
This article appears in May 23-29, 2007.