They still got it.
After the absolute disaster that was The National’s last album released earlier this year „First Two Pages of Frankenstein“ (which I gave something like a 3/10) they decidede to release an actual competent piece of music with „Laugh Track“, what seems to be that album’s sister album of sorts. Sorry for the rough start but you have to understand I hold a lot of enjoyment for this band and I’m really dissapointed when they release stuff that’s obviously not half as good as they are capable of releasing. Anyways let’s get into „Laugh Track“.
The album opens up with the really pretty „Alphabet City“ which I originally didn’t care for all that much as a single, but it really grew on me as time passed. It’s actually a really great opener for this album, it sets the mood perfectly and captures that iconic The National feel perfectly. Really reminds me of something off of „Sleep Well Beast“. The opening guitar lick sounds like something straight out of the Life Is Strange OST and the orchestral elements in the latter half are great too. All around an absolute joy to listen to. Speaking off, the same can be said about the next song „Deep End (Paul’s In Pieces)“ – this one has some really smooth guitar riffs and sharp drumming, it’s really airy and sentimental, just all around everything a The National song should be. I especially enjoy the subtle guitar licks in the background here + the lyrics in the chorus really hit home for me lately. Yeah, this one’s a banger too, this album is two for two so far. Next is the song „Weird Goodbyes“ with none other than Bon Iver and this one admittedly is a bit too poppy for my taste, with the really simple beat and piano chords without much to make it unique, but Justin Vernon’s and Matt Berninger’s voice chemistry here is kinda unmatched. Plus the little bits and pieces of instrumentations slowly being added to make it more colorful here and there make it a little more fresh throughout. The tune is definitely there, it’s still a really good one. „Turn off the House“ is actually another one of my favorites, this one once again hits you with that acoustic Life is Strange feel right off the back but with arguably even more energy behind it than in „Alphabet City“. The different blends of instrumentation are absolutely seemless and the singing is kinda on point like a lot. I don’t know, this one just works for a variety of reasons, it feels really colorful and really complete, I especially enjoy the guitar work on here and also the way the part after the „turn off the house“ hook part is sung just hits differently. Yeah like up to this point it’s kinda hard to believe that these songs are off of the same the same sessions as the songs on the previous album were. Next is „Dreaming“ and this one has some REALLY nice but subtle synth work scattered throughout. The electronics here aren’t obnoxious at all, they add to the song a lot. Plus the lyrics once again I really enjoy here especially. Not much else to be said about the song though, I just really like it. After that comes the title track „Laugh Track“ with Phoebe Bridgers and as on the previous album, the Pheobe Bridgers track isn’t as great as I expected it to be. It’s kinda anthemic in a sense and the guitar work is once again just really excellent and well-placed, but the song could use a little extra like… Something. Not even the horns that are brough in towards the end add all that much – it’s still a good song, like it’s really pleasant when it’s on and kinda memorable and by the end of it the instrumentation reaches a beautiful mix, but it takes a hot while to get there and the song can otherwise be a bit boring. Good song though. Next song however, is this album at it’s peak – „Space Invader“ is the longest song on here a almost 7 minutes long and it absolutely makes that time worth sitting through. The base song is kinda simple but really catchy immidiately, once again feeling like iconic The National. However after like the second or third chorus the song turn into pure instrumental bliss as it slowly build with really chaotic drums, bright synths and really pretty guitar work, just an absolute climax. It’s genuinely one of the best The National moments period. Insane song. After that comes the much-needed slower ballad in the form of „Hornets“. This song is like the definition of a slow-burner. It’s really simple and kinda average but that doesn’t mean the instrumentation and performances still aren’t pretty great. Plus the horn(et)s (see what I did there) make a little comeback towards the very end of the song, which was a nice cherry on top, even though a bit short-lived one. Not bad but nothing all that great either, it’s alright. „Coat on a Hook“ has a really nice beat, the drums are super smooth and the plucky guitar melodies are pretty sweet too, it’s just that by this point in the album this sound gets a bit repetetive and this song doesn’t do much to stand out. It’s fine while it’s on but it probably could have easily been cut. As could probably the next song „Tour Manager“ – again, it’s fine while it’s on but compared to the earlier leg of this album it’s kinda impressive hoe forgetable it is. It’s fine. The second to last song „Crumble“ with Rosanne Cash and I’ll definitely say that the chemistry is there as is the tune, like especially after the last few so-so tracks. The guitars are much more lively here and overall the song just has more life to it. The solo at the end is really cool too, the song itself probably overall could have been a bit shorter though I’ll say that much. Still a banger. The closing track „Smoke Detector“ is another really really great one, the guitar riff is really catchy and instantly memorable, the singing feels very unique, like the singing range is probably the widest I’ve heard on any The National song up to this point. It’s just overall great. Apart from „Space Invader“ this is probably the most ambitious and complete song on the whole album, an absolute opus of this project. Wraps up the entire project masterfully and solidifies it as a true comeback for the band, at least in my eyes. Amazing closer.
And there you have it – honestly this project could have been not good but GREAT. There are so many amazing highlights, it’s just a real shame that a lot of the tracks here feel like they’re there just to fill up space. But besides that I mean what a comeback – I had very little hopes for the future of this band after the last LP but this is just great. Hope they continue on this path because I feel like a with a little more ambition and polish we could be looking at something really spectacular here.
-favorite songs: Alphabet City, Deep End (Paul’s in Pieces), Weird Goodbyes, Turn off the House, Dreaming, parts of Laugh Track, Space Invader, parts of Hornets, Crumble, Smoke Detector
-least favorite songs: Coat on a Hook, Tour Manager
decent 7/10