The National, Roundhouse - music review

Matt Berninger sang a terse baritone over clattering beats on Bloodbuzz Ohio while Afraid of Everyone, about becoming a father, had a weary grandeur. Swigging wine from a bottle for Dutch courage during the encore, he was mobbed like a hero
The National - Matt Berninger The National in concert at the Roundhouse, London, Britain - 26 Jun 2013
Rex Features.com
Andre Paine28 June 2013

Underdogs no more, The National's melancholy music now sits slightly uncomfortably with their success, including a number three album here and in the US.

Employing self-aware humour for this quandary, Matt Berninger described indie ballad I Need My Girl as having just a “little bit of self-loathing”. It was one of several spellbinding songs from the Brooklyn band’s new album, Trouble Will Find Me, and their maturing talent was apparent in the beguiling time signature of Demons, the stately Sea of Love and the piano-led Pink Rabbits.

The previous record provided the evening’s first forlorn anthems: Berninger sang a terse baritone over clattering beats on Bloodbuzz Ohio while Afraid of Everyone, about becoming a father, had a weary grandeur. The stooping, bespectacled singer resembled an academic more than a rock star but he screamed violently over surging brass and the Dessner twins’ squally guitars on Squalor Victoria, and destroyed a microphone stand.

Swigging wine from a bottle for Dutch courage during the encore of Mr November, Berninger strode into the crowd to be mobbed like a hero. Good practice for their Alexandra Palace gigs this autumn.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in