(Photo Manipulation by Oli Turner)
Though The National’s new album is titled “Laugh Track,” the self-proclaimed “Sad Dads” are still sad, just with a little bit more hope. Whereas the preceding album “First Two Pages of Frankenstein” chronicled lead singer Matt Berninger’s writer’s block, “Laugh Track” takes itself less seriously.
During the first night of their headlining the “Homecoming 2023” music festival, the band announced the surprise companion album. The album was released on Sept. 18, just five months after the release of “First Two Pages of Frankenstein.”Although the album was released so soon after its predecessor, “Laugh Track” isn’t a B-side record by any means. Guitarist Aaron Dessner called “Laugh Track” “the wilder cousin of ‘Frankenstein’” in a Sept. 19 Instagram post.
“Laugh Track” isn’t an all-out happy record, though — it wouldn’t be a National album if it sounded like Berninger had everything figured out. Whereas “First Two Pages of Frankenstein” felt like Berninger had just made it back from the abyss, “Laugh Track” feels like he is still staring into it, just from a healthier distance.
The album kicks off with “Alphabet City,” a song where Berninger accepts his angst and persists nonetheless. He sings, “All of your lonesomeness kept in your wallet / Nobody notices, baby, you got this.”
The band’s drummer Bryan Devendorf has always been a highlight of the National’s classic albums, playing complex patterns that somehow don’t distract from the Dessner brothers’ guitar work or Berninger’s lyrics. However, “First Two Pages of Frankenstein” heavily relies on drum machines rather than live-recorded drums. The drumming is still solid, it just isn’t what fans of The National have come to expect from Devendorf. However, on the second track of the new album, Devendorf sounds like he’s been let out of a cage. The live drums on “Deep End (Paul’s in Pieces),” come roaring in and don’t let up, making the National’s most lively song in years.
The next track, “Weird Goodbyes,” returns to the pre-programmed drums and the subdued vibe of “First Two Pages of Frankenstein.” The song came out in 2022 as a single but has not found a home on a National album until now. However, to place “Weird Goodbyes” so prominently on “Laugh Track” is an odd choice. The song is beautiful and features stellar backing vocals from Bon Iver. While it could have fit nicely on “First Two Pages of Frankenstein,” the track instead feels like an interruption on “Laugh Track.”
A few songs later, Phoebe Bridgers features on the album’s title track. The song sounds like the new-era National at their best. The band has been working with female vocalists very often as of late, especially on 2019’s “I Am Easy to Find,” featuring artists Sharon Van Etten, Lisa Hannigan and Kate Stables among others. The song “Laugh Track” strikes the perfect balance, giving Berninger room to take center stage without making Bridgers’ lyrics feel stuck in the background.
The highlight of “Laugh Track” is the song “Space Invader,” which serves as a centerpiece for the record. Its seven-minute run is a nonstop build into the band’s loosest instrumental explosion in years. Devendorf unleashes on the drums and the Dessner twins don’t relent on the guitar throughout the song’s outro. It feels like the band is finally breaking free of the malaise of “First Two Pages of Frankenstein” and leaning into the looseness of “Laugh Track.”
The closing track, “Smoke Detector,” follows a similar pattern to “Space Invader.” Starting out quiet and restrained, the song builds to chaos. Both songs are returns-to-form for The National — the band is often at its best when toeing the line between restraint and letting go. For example, one of their most popular songs, “Fake Empire,” begins seeming like a quiet piano ballad but builds toward a chaotic finish with blaring guitars and horns. With “Space Invader” and “Smoke Detector,” The National are back in peak-form.
“Laugh Track” is a great record on its own, but it’s even more impressive when viewed as the companion to “First Two Pages of Frankenstein.” Between the two albums, the band emerges from the haze and doubt of Berninger’s writer’s block and returns to their prime. It is an impressive feat for the two-decade-old band who have reached a musical space of confidence after nearly coming to an end.
Alex Gerson (he/him) (27C) is from Bethesda, Maryland. Outside of the Wheel, he's a member of eTV and hosts "Discography Discoveries" on WMRE. In his free time, Alex is probably watching TV and movies, listening to music or following the Washington Nationals.
