{"id":62056,"date":"2017-09-29T12:30:06","date_gmt":"2017-09-29T17:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/?p=62056"},"modified":"2017-10-02T15:51:18","modified_gmt":"2017-10-02T20:51:18","slug":"the-national-sleep-well-beast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/2017\/09\/29\/the-national-sleep-well-beast\/","title":{"rendered":"The National: Sleep Well Beast"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium alignright wp-image-62057\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/this-one1.jpg?fit=300%2C300\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/this-one1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/this-one1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/this-one1-125x125.jpg 125w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Fans of The National have waited four years for <em>Sleep Well Beast<\/em> and should definitely not sleep on this release. The Cincinnati indie rock band\u2019s seventh album could arguably be the band\u2019s best. The 12 tracks put out by Matt Berninger, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, Scott Devendorf, and Bryan Devendorf are more raw than their previous releases. The National\u2019s 18-year career puts a lot of pressure on them to impress and we hear Berninger singing about being at \u201ca loss\u201d and \u201closing grip.\u201d This album is not about the joys of life, but about how to endure it.<\/p>\n<p>The album addresses challenges Berninger faces as a father, the election last November, and the commitment of marriage. On \u201cI\u2019ll Still Destroy You\u201d, Berninger struggles with the notion that he may be a harmful father. \u201cPut your heels against the wall \/ I swear you got a little bit taller since I saw you\/ I\u2019ll still destroy you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTurtleneck\u201d when compared to the average The National release is untamed. Punchy guitar riffs support the attack on the current presidential administration. \u201cAnother man in shitty suits everybody\u2019s cheering for \/ This must be the genius we\u2019ve been waiting years for \/ Oh no, this is so embarrassing\u201d are the lyrics Berninger wrote the day after the election.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sleep Well Beast<\/em> is a beautiful type of bleak you want to wallow in forever. While The National hasn\u2019t released an album since 2013\u2019s <em>Trouble Will Find Me<\/em>, <em>Sleep Well Beast<\/em> feels like an old friend. Berninger\u2019s signature baritone and dark humor are comforting despite being lined with gloom.<\/p>\n<p>The band\u2019s worldwide tour in support of the album has already sold out in many cities as fans gear up to hear The National\u2019s live use of synthesizers like never before. <em>Sleep Well Beast<\/em> provides classic National appeal without sounding stale. It is exquisite.<br \/>\n<b><br \/>\nRecommended If You Like: Iron and Wine, Radiohead, Interpol<br \/>\nRecommended Tracks: 2 (Day I Die), 4 (The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness), 6 (Turtleneck), 11 (Dark Side of the Gym)<br \/>\nDo Not Play: 3 (Walk it Back)<br \/>\nWritten by Miranda Roberts on 09\/17\/2017 <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fans of The National have waited four years for Sleep Well Beast and will definitely not be sleeping on this release.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4332,"featured_media":62057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3235,181],"tags":[7260,7671,7670],"class_list":["post-62056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","category-music-reviews","category-rock-rotation","tag-miranda-roberts","tag-sleep-well-beast","tag-the-national"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/this-one1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4332"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}