 |
|
|||||||||||
|
THE NATIONAL - Biography CHERRY TREE - EP A lot has happened since US five-piece THE NATIONAL (five musicians from Ohio now living in New York) released their second full-lenght "Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers" last year. "Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers" has won critical acclaim from UNCUT ("A genuine treasure", the monthly magazine even named the album one of their top of the year) to the NME, from France's prestigious LIBERATION newspaper (one of its Top Five records for 2003) to the SUNDAY TIMES. The album received also a warm reaction at radio with FRANCE INTER leading the way (the band played Bernard Lenoir's BLACK SESSION on FRANCE INTER, and B. Lenoir chose "Sad Songs" at his # 1 album of the year), FIP french national radio and XFM in England. The band has toured Europe twice
(traveling from France to Austria, from the UK to Italy), and recently
completed a US tour including dates with The Walkmen and an appearance
at the South By South West Festival in Austin,Texas. The National's upcoming "CHERRY TREE" EP delivers 6 unreleased songs and a live version of Murder Me Rachael (from the Black Session, France Inter). It was recorded in several places, by Peter Katis at Tarquin Studio, Nick Lloyd at Cretchen's Kitchen, the band in Brooklyn or Padma Newsome / Clogs in Australia who did the strings arrangements and added vocals on tracks 3 & 7.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - >>THE NATIONAL "Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers" The National are five men from Ohio living in New York since 1996: Scott and Bryan Devendorf (guitar & drums); Aaron and Bryce Dessner (guitar & bass); and Matt Berninger (vocals) - two sets of brothers and one best friend. They play smart, bracing and beautiful rock music. More about storytelling and great songwriting than hip atmosphere, they bring to mind classic artists. We've heard comparisons ranging from roue-voiced troubadours like Nick Cave, Tom Waits, and Leonard Cohen; to classic bands like The Band, The Smiths, Wilco, and Joy Division; to American legends Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen. The history: We came from Cincinnati to New York. We started a band and recorded an album, never playing a gig. That self-titled debut album, released in the United States in 2001, has since become something of an underground legend. We've included some of the press for that record. This time around we played and played and then recorded and recorded, and recorded some more, with Nick Lloyd again, at seven studios altogether: 1) Excello in Brooklyn. 2) overdubs in the penthouse of the Puck Building, whose panorama includes David Bowie's, Thurston Moore's, and Moby's lofts-cum-homes. 3 & 4) two locales in and around New Haven, one a 17th-century salt box house in the woods (note: the crickets on "Sugar Wife" are aleatoric). 5) another Brooklyn studio, Headgear, where the ghosts of GISH and HOUSES OF THE HOLY haunt the boards. (They were inherited from Butch Vig. That's right, B-u-t-c-h.) 6) in Bryan's basement (w/wrkng frplce). And finally 7) mixing and recording still more with Peter Katis at Tarquin Studios* in Fairfield, Conn. Think: acres of strip malls, sexy mothers in SUVs, etc. There we exhumed dying tracks in Pro Tools; others we just let die. We were very grateful to have additional personnel on hand: Clogs' Padma Newsome and his vampire opera of strings; Nick Lloyd's keyboards and calm center; Nate Martinez's slow hand; and "Steve" on mellophone and french horn. Thank you all. The seasons turned from winter to spring, spring to summer, then summer gave way to fall. All seen (or not seen) from the studio womb; we were learning the true value of things and proper conduct among others, sharing the same space for days at a time. It put me in mind of TWELVE ANGRY MEN or Skylab, of everyone who'd occupied the same couches and swivel chairs before us and thought, "We are so fucking awesome." *which occupies the attic of a 7000 square foot Victorian house built in 1891. Recalls Peter, "I remember I was sitting here with no walls and no floors, sitting on the joists, and looking at the wide open space, and saying, "How the heck am I gonna lay this out?" A blank sheet of paper, a blank reel, an unfinished room. All the same in the end. The National - "Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers" / Tal-011 1. cardinal song - 2. slipping husband - 3. 90-mile water wall - 4. it never happened - 5. murder me rachael - 6. thirsty - 7. available - 8. sugar wife - 9. trophy wife - 10. fashion coat - 11. patterns of fairytales - 12. lucky you European release: may 03 - England: november 03 The National: Matt Berninger - Aaron Dessner - Bryce Dessner - Bryan Devendorg - Scott Devendorf Produced by Nick Lloyd / Co-produced by Paul Heck & Peter Katis. Basic tracks recorded by Hugh Pool at Excello. Additional recording and engineering by Nick Lloyd at Gretchen's Kitchen and by Dan Long at Headgear. Murder Me Rachael produced by Peter Katis and Paul Heck. Recorded and engineered by Peter Katis Mixed by Peter Katis at Tarquin Studio. Mastered by John Loder at Abbey Road. Orchestration by Padma Newsome. Management / Glenn Supervision by Alec Hanley Bemis / info@brassland.org - Design: www.distantstation.com |
|||||||||||
