Musical Musing - The National, "Boxer"

What do Nick Cave, U2 and the soundtracks of John Hughes movies have in common.

Well, ostensibly very little indeed. However, when I first listened to The National's latest album, "Boxer", these are some of the things that came to mind.

I'm not overly fond of Nick Cave, U2 or Simple Minds so it's a bit of a mystery to me why I like "Boxer" so much.

Perhaps it's the great drums. Sweet shitting Jesus on a tandem, the drumming is good on it.

Perhaps it's the fact that they seem to have fused alt.country to early 80s British anthemic rock and taken away all the bad connotations that union may conjure - 'cause they have; they bloody well have.

Anyway, I like it. And, if you've a soft spot for, say, Arcade Fire but wish they weren't quite so art-rock pretentious, I urge you to give it a listen, then maybe even purchase it.

There aren't any harmonies on it. But I'm willing to forgive it for that oversight.