Yeah, I figured that many people may appreciate that aspect of the bands overall sound... I like the band and all, but as I said before, I'm more inclined to listen to indie bands with higher pitched vocals.

Aren't their vocals kind of... boring? It may be the lack of high pitched wailing, but there are bands which don't have that and still don't sound THAT boring.

Best part of The Nationals is the drums, definitely. It's a shame the other parts are slightly lagging behind, which makes for some decent albums with a taint of boring and repetiting in the core.

This band boggles my mind because I'm not sure where they fit or how they survived as long as they have when similar sounding acts like Interpol have bit the dust.

What does The National make you think of when you hear them?

Well, they make music. I think all the other 'similar' bands make top 40 tunes.
(I'm not making friends here by saying that, but I've never liked any of those bands. My friends tell me it makes no sense since, for them, The National sounds exactly the same ;D)

The National are different because of their beautiful poetic lyrics while Interpol write standard, meat and potatoes indie rawk songs.

That's not it for me. I haven't got a clue what they're on about.

Is that enough to make such a dramatic difference if the rest of their work is of equal quality?

Momentum counts for a lot in music. Interpol set the bar high for later success on their debut,meaning they will pernamently be judged in people's mind by it. By contrast, The National improved album by album ,building up a following.

Well you're not a native english speaker so obviously bands with a heavy emphasis on songwriting wont appeal to you.


Of course the lyrics aren't the only thing to love about the band. Matt's voice is another big plus, the piano playing and Americana influences too. The instrumentation isn't bad(Hell, I really like some Interpol songs) but I feel the other things I've mentioned make them a little bit special.

What? No!
I love the National! I just have the habit to listen to music, not to lyrics.
I often don't even know what Bob Dylan's songs are about.
I can understand what they say, I just don't listen to music that way. I can usually even sing along without really knowing what I'm singing.
I'm only bothered by lyrics when they are really bad ;D.