the national @ the lincoln, originally uploaded by minervacat.

The National — High Violet. Out 5/11, 4AD.

I have a big vocabulary; I know a lot of multi-syllabic words and generally can string together a sentence pretty well. But I’ve been trying for two weeks, and I can’t write about the National’s new album. I don’t have the words. It’s complex and terrifying and heartbreaking and one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard, and all of those words are not enough to describe how amazing this album is. Either you love the National already and you understand how I feel about it, or you don’t love the National and this album wouldn’t convince you of anything.

I could write a thousand words on how clever and layered the music is, how Matt Berninger’s weird and obtuse lyrics perfectly suit this music that’s ten times more interesting and full of detail than it sounds on first listen. I could say shimmering and intense and pull out a million synonyms for complex and layered.

None of it would do this album justice, so I’m not going to bother. I think this is an tremendous album, full stop, no questions asked. It’s just that good: I’ve run out of words.

You can go read this fantastic profile of the band at the New York Times Magazine instead, and I think you can still stream the album over here at the NPR for the time being.