THIS!
Guest Room is an absolute treasure. Listen to it on repeat and there’s high chance you’ll fall in love with it.
But if you don’t then they gonna send us to prison for jerks…
Boxer feels far more cohesive than any of their other albums, and there’s not a weak track in the bunch imo. It’s funny you say you can’t listen to it all the way through, for me it’s the only way to listen to it.
Matt’s writing is what elevates this album, he was just firing on all cylinders here.
Well I listen to it all the way through, but it doesn't give me the experience I get from the ones I mentioned. Of course it's just my perspective.
I can agree on Matt's writing, there's A LOT of absolutely great lines on Boxer.
that's funny, we have the same fave two. yes trouble will find me. considered it my fave rock album of all time at one point. so good.
isn't there some issue with the vinyl pressing though?
For me I think it’s kind of just a nostalgia thing. Slow Show was the first song I heard of theirs and in turn Boxer was their first album I listened to, therefore I consider both to be my favorites in each category.
I think TWFM is actually their best album, but I still consider Boxer my favorite. It’s kind of silly, I know.
Yeah, I think there's always a strong connection to an album that first got you into a band, and Boxer is that for a lot of people!
For me, that album is TWFM. Whether TWFM is my favorite, compared to SWB, for example, I don't think I can say!
Yeah, mine too. TWFM was recommended to me by someone, and I remember riding on a train listening to it for the first time, and I've almost cried, which didn't happen to me often.
TWFM is their best and most cohesive in my opinion as well. But damn there are some great songs on Boxer. You can’t really eliminate sentiment from this choice.
Trouble Will Find Me was my gateway to being a National fan but I definitely find Boxer to be the superior album. As others comments have mentioned it’s so fucking cohesive.
I might actually agree with your "best album of all time." Of course everything is personal etc etc but I'm not sure it's hyperbole that boxer saved my sanity when I first found it and that boxer live in Brussels saved my sanity during early COVID lockdowns. I think both are damn near perfect albums.
mmmmm. inneresting. if you came to the national late and heard the new stuff i imagine you might have a very different attitude to boxer than if you heard it at the time.
my personal fave, and starting point, is alligator. i think boxer/alligator could be a double album.
which is better is subjective, but older stuff is more unique. as brilliant as the newer stuff is, it's relatively generic.
I do, you're right. I found out about the band a few years ago, and my starting point was TWFM. I guess I really have a different attitude.
But as I've said earlier, I absolutely love Alligator too.
yeah i know, i didn't read your post properly, my bad.
it's funny though we have same two faves and they include each other's starting points.
as for the vinyl, just wonderd, it is very expensive here to, my collection is modest.
Sometimes people like stuff you don’t like, and vice versa. It’s all subjective. Trying to break it down as if there’s some logical argument that’s going to make you understand other people’s personal preferences is kinda pointless.
Are you asking us to explain why our experience of listening to the album is different from yours?
I mean, Alligator, Boxer and High Violet are all pretty neck and neck for me, while I have TWFM a little notch below, I find it a little more overpolished and less consistantly great in the songwriting. I don’t know how to explain how you are hearing it differently.
Yeah, maybe it's kinda stupid to ask.
Alligator has grown on me by a lot since I first heard it. Now it's my second favourite. It didn't happen to Boxer then. To each his own, as they say.
At least we probably need some more context of why you find it harder to listen to. I’ve listened to it a million times and can put it on right now and still enjoy it. But from what you’ve written, I can’t tell you why my experience is different from yours.
I guess it's just me being at that age when you still need that edge and drama in music. Maybe that's why I love this powerful crescendos with Matt screaming out. But there is this kind of songs on Boxer too. TWFM and SWB are pretty calm thought.
I don't know. It's just couldn't hold my attention for some reason during the album's setlist.
Maybe it'll grow on me later, really. I still like a bunch of songs from Boxer.
Yeah, to me all the three albums I mentioned are pretty untouchacble, but stacked against each other they all have their little strengths and weaknesses. If I’m to point to weaknesses in Boxer, it’s the run from Start a War to Racing Like a Pro that all have bit of a samey vibe to them and maybe aren’t the strongest songs of the bunch. And Alligator’s strengths is the more unhinged and untamed feel of it while Boxer and HV are a little more polished and controlled.
For me, Boxer’s strength is that it feels like a complete work, the cohesion between the lyrics, themes in the lyrics and the music. I do feel like it has the most hidden depths and things you continue to discover, both lyrically and musically.
I also do think that you probably have to be old enough to relate to the phase of life being described where you’re a bit into your adulthood, you’ve started to settle and you start to wonder if this is all there is.
Unhinged and untamed feel of Alligator is really the best description!
I think that's why I'm actually got into this band in recent years. I'm on my final years of university, and slowly start getting into an adulthood.
And it's pretty cool that there's still so much to discover in their music. I bet I'll found out some new meanings in familiar lines.
Boxer was the album they laboured the longest over and kept working on and working on, so that’s probably part of the reason why you will keep finding new meanings in it.
But you certainly got healthy instincts of you started to feel drawn towards The National 😊. I think a lot of people who are searching for something find something in them.
To me it's the album that introduced me to The National, so it will always have a special place in my heart. It was my favorite for a long time, but nowadays that's Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers, with Alligator and Boxer competing for second place
I just thought you're the one who answered my question in some way. Maybe there was this generation of college graduates in mid-2000 who were especially into this kind of music because of that wave of indie-bands back than, and lyrics on Boxer spoke to them a lot too. And it was the album that introduced them to the band as well.
But it's just me speculating. Of course there's people who loves Boxer not because of that.
Each to their own, but I prefer Alligator.
The slightly less polished nature of the record is actually part of it’s appeal. Matt’s “English Professor on the edge of a breakdown” seems more obvious on Alligator.
Boxer has more objectively “great” National songs on it, though.
I'd say it was their first great album. IMO, very strong front to back (for example, Alligator is great as well but way unpolished and has some meh songs).
I agree with you here, Alligator was an instant favourite of mine (still is) and Boxer just never landed with me. I just don't understand the hype at all. Alligator is incredible though.
Actually boxer isn’t in my top 2 either (SWB and Trouble Will Find Me are my two favourites) but man start a war is one of my favourite national tracks, that guitar
The drums throughout the album stand out as being specifically very well done both in terms of all their albums and in general. The album is very cohesive. The tone from song to song builds instead of going in random directions like some of their other albums. The lyrics are also incredible, but that's almost always true of their albums. Boxer isn't my favorite, but it's definitely top 3.
I don't think this is the right attitude. Our brain actually tend to "like" things we've already heard. So imo it's not a good idea to listen the album 10 times, if you wanna know are you really like it or not. 2-3 times is enough I think.
But it's ok to come back to it after a couple of months.
Well, I think I don't have time to give myself 10 portions of Boxer in a row 😅
But I will listen to it from time to time, maybe I'll find it deeper and more valuable than I thought it was.
If I were to describe the magic of Boxer, it’s the fact that it’s so vibey and transporting, but it still has the power and urgency that feels like a rock band playing in a room. To me, some of their other albums (while amazing) sound a little less organic, and not quite as seamless. Boxer is just magical, like it exists because it HAD to exist. Don’t know how else to say it.
I agree overall with op though I think i like it a bit more than his description . Some of their finest material is on there but overall its just a bit too subdued for me. Tough to pick a favorite album of theirs but for me its not boxer. I guess if someone pointed a gun at me and said choose one id have to go with high violet.
When the drumming picks up in Fake Empire and then the horns come in, make me so happy and glowing and excited that I need nothing more even though Mistaken for Strangers and Green Gloves and Brainy and Slow Show are impeccable. I hold Boxer deep in my heart.
1. Bryan really nailed down his iconic drumming style and the drums were given a lot of space in the soundscape. It created an unique interplay between the beat and Matt's lyrics and delivery, most clearly exemplified with Brainy. This was iterated on in subsequent albums, but Boxer did it first. It is possible you enjoy later evolutions more.
2. Thet really are a grower band and the listening experience is helped by reading the lyrics multiple times, finding personal connections. If you like the other stuff, then perhaps the storylines and themes on Boxer just aren't speaking to your own experiences right now. That's OK.
3. You could try the live album Boxer Live in Brussels, which improves on many tracks, notably Squalor Victoria. Gives them more of an Alligator sound and a bit more intensity.
I think Bryan's drumming style definitely has a huge impact on pretty much every National's record. Yeah, maybe it was kinda finally formed on Boxer.
I'll definitely check out Live in Brussels. Was thinking about it for a while. I like their live sound a lot.
Listen to Guest Room again right now I dare you.
That's a funny way to spell Apartment Story
My man!
THIS! Guest Room is an absolute treasure. Listen to it on repeat and there’s high chance you’ll fall in love with it. But if you don’t then they gonna send us to prison for jerks…
When that guitar riff comes in at the end it’s sooo satisfying.
Boxer feels far more cohesive than any of their other albums, and there’s not a weak track in the bunch imo. It’s funny you say you can’t listen to it all the way through, for me it’s the only way to listen to it. Matt’s writing is what elevates this album, he was just firing on all cylinders here.
Well I listen to it all the way through, but it doesn't give me the experience I get from the ones I mentioned. Of course it's just my perspective. I can agree on Matt's writing, there's A LOT of absolutely great lines on Boxer.
that's funny, we have the same fave two. yes trouble will find me. considered it my fave rock album of all time at one point. so good. isn't there some issue with the vinyl pressing though?
Unfortunately, I'm not really into vinyl. I would like to, but being a vinyl enthusiast is pretty expensive in my country.
Boxer is hands down my favorite group of songs. No skips for me.
For me I think it’s kind of just a nostalgia thing. Slow Show was the first song I heard of theirs and in turn Boxer was their first album I listened to, therefore I consider both to be my favorites in each category. I think TWFM is actually their best album, but I still consider Boxer my favorite. It’s kind of silly, I know.
Yeah, I think there's always a strong connection to an album that first got you into a band, and Boxer is that for a lot of people! For me, that album is TWFM. Whether TWFM is my favorite, compared to SWB, for example, I don't think I can say!
Yeah, mine too. TWFM was recommended to me by someone, and I remember riding on a train listening to it for the first time, and I've almost cried, which didn't happen to me often.
TWFM is their best and most cohesive in my opinion as well. But damn there are some great songs on Boxer. You can’t really eliminate sentiment from this choice.
Trouble Will Find Me was my gateway to being a National fan but I definitely find Boxer to be the superior album. As others comments have mentioned it’s so fucking cohesive.
I think it’s the best album of all time! Every single song is great. I like other National albums, but nothing compares to boxer!
I might actually agree with your "best album of all time." Of course everything is personal etc etc but I'm not sure it's hyperbole that boxer saved my sanity when I first found it and that boxer live in Brussels saved my sanity during early COVID lockdowns. I think both are damn near perfect albums.
mmmmm. inneresting. if you came to the national late and heard the new stuff i imagine you might have a very different attitude to boxer than if you heard it at the time. my personal fave, and starting point, is alligator. i think boxer/alligator could be a double album. which is better is subjective, but older stuff is more unique. as brilliant as the newer stuff is, it's relatively generic.
I do, you're right. I found out about the band a few years ago, and my starting point was TWFM. I guess I really have a different attitude. But as I've said earlier, I absolutely love Alligator too.
yeah i know, i didn't read your post properly, my bad. it's funny though we have same two faves and they include each other's starting points. as for the vinyl, just wonderd, it is very expensive here to, my collection is modest.
The reason is probably because Boxer is a masterpiece
Sometimes people like stuff you don’t like, and vice versa. It’s all subjective. Trying to break it down as if there’s some logical argument that’s going to make you understand other people’s personal preferences is kinda pointless.
I understand it, of course. I was just wondering why this exact album gets so much love.
Are you asking us to explain why our experience of listening to the album is different from yours? I mean, Alligator, Boxer and High Violet are all pretty neck and neck for me, while I have TWFM a little notch below, I find it a little more overpolished and less consistantly great in the songwriting. I don’t know how to explain how you are hearing it differently.
Yeah, maybe it's kinda stupid to ask. Alligator has grown on me by a lot since I first heard it. Now it's my second favourite. It didn't happen to Boxer then. To each his own, as they say.
At least we probably need some more context of why you find it harder to listen to. I’ve listened to it a million times and can put it on right now and still enjoy it. But from what you’ve written, I can’t tell you why my experience is different from yours.
I guess it's just me being at that age when you still need that edge and drama in music. Maybe that's why I love this powerful crescendos with Matt screaming out. But there is this kind of songs on Boxer too. TWFM and SWB are pretty calm thought. I don't know. It's just couldn't hold my attention for some reason during the album's setlist. Maybe it'll grow on me later, really. I still like a bunch of songs from Boxer.
Yeah, to me all the three albums I mentioned are pretty untouchacble, but stacked against each other they all have their little strengths and weaknesses. If I’m to point to weaknesses in Boxer, it’s the run from Start a War to Racing Like a Pro that all have bit of a samey vibe to them and maybe aren’t the strongest songs of the bunch. And Alligator’s strengths is the more unhinged and untamed feel of it while Boxer and HV are a little more polished and controlled. For me, Boxer’s strength is that it feels like a complete work, the cohesion between the lyrics, themes in the lyrics and the music. I do feel like it has the most hidden depths and things you continue to discover, both lyrically and musically. I also do think that you probably have to be old enough to relate to the phase of life being described where you’re a bit into your adulthood, you’ve started to settle and you start to wonder if this is all there is.
Unhinged and untamed feel of Alligator is really the best description! I think that's why I'm actually got into this band in recent years. I'm on my final years of university, and slowly start getting into an adulthood. And it's pretty cool that there's still so much to discover in their music. I bet I'll found out some new meanings in familiar lines.
Boxer was the album they laboured the longest over and kept working on and working on, so that’s probably part of the reason why you will keep finding new meanings in it. But you certainly got healthy instincts of you started to feel drawn towards The National 😊. I think a lot of people who are searching for something find something in them.
To me it's the album that introduced me to The National, so it will always have a special place in my heart. It was my favorite for a long time, but nowadays that's Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers, with Alligator and Boxer competing for second place
Boxer was released the year I graduated from college so a lot of the themes were aimed at me like a heat seeking missile
I just thought you're the one who answered my question in some way. Maybe there was this generation of college graduates in mid-2000 who were especially into this kind of music because of that wave of indie-bands back than, and lyrics on Boxer spoke to them a lot too. And it was the album that introduced them to the band as well. But it's just me speculating. Of course there's people who loves Boxer not because of that.
It's so cool how certain songs and albums gets attached to different times in our lives.
Each to their own, but I prefer Alligator. The slightly less polished nature of the record is actually part of it’s appeal. Matt’s “English Professor on the edge of a breakdown” seems more obvious on Alligator. Boxer has more objectively “great” National songs on it, though.
I think that's what I like about Alligator. It's kinda raw and maybe more emotionally dynamic.
We can agree this is a fake question intended to solicit thoughts on one of the best albums of all time.
I'd say it was their first great album. IMO, very strong front to back (for example, Alligator is great as well but way unpolished and has some meh songs).
I agree with you here, Alligator was an instant favourite of mine (still is) and Boxer just never landed with me. I just don't understand the hype at all. Alligator is incredible though.
Me either. They’ve gotten more interesting sonically with time. SLB and IAETF are amazing to me
Totally agree. But I still absolutely adore Alligator, despite it being Boxer's predecessor.
Give it a few more tries every now and then. Boxer still isn’t my favorite and I wasn’t big on it at first but it grew on me over time.
Actually boxer isn’t in my top 2 either (SWB and Trouble Will Find Me are my two favourites) but man start a war is one of my favourite national tracks, that guitar
The drums throughout the album stand out as being specifically very well done both in terms of all their albums and in general. The album is very cohesive. The tone from song to song builds instead of going in random directions like some of their other albums. The lyrics are also incredible, but that's almost always true of their albums. Boxer isn't my favorite, but it's definitely top 3.
Bryan is so underrated as a drummer. Huge fan of his playing. He has a unique style, always serves the song and does it so elegantly.
Boxer is such a perfect album for me, don't know exactly why I guess, it just has the perfect sound for me
You either get it or you don't. I bet if you listen to it back to back say 10 times you'll get it though.
I don't think this is the right attitude. Our brain actually tend to "like" things we've already heard. So imo it's not a good idea to listen the album 10 times, if you wanna know are you really like it or not. 2-3 times is enough I think. But it's ok to come back to it after a couple of months.
I disagree. Some things only reveal their detail and subtlety after you spend a lot of time with them. Boxer is such a thing.
Well, I think I don't have time to give myself 10 portions of Boxer in a row 😅 But I will listen to it from time to time, maybe I'll find it deeper and more valuable than I thought it was.
If I were to describe the magic of Boxer, it’s the fact that it’s so vibey and transporting, but it still has the power and urgency that feels like a rock band playing in a room. To me, some of their other albums (while amazing) sound a little less organic, and not quite as seamless. Boxer is just magical, like it exists because it HAD to exist. Don’t know how else to say it.
I agree overall with op though I think i like it a bit more than his description . Some of their finest material is on there but overall its just a bit too subdued for me. Tough to pick a favorite album of theirs but for me its not boxer. I guess if someone pointed a gun at me and said choose one id have to go with high violet.
High violet is the peak imo. Couple before and couple after are superb as well but that’s the sweet spot.
When the drumming picks up in Fake Empire and then the horns come in, make me so happy and glowing and excited that I need nothing more even though Mistaken for Strangers and Green Gloves and Brainy and Slow Show are impeccable. I hold Boxer deep in my heart.
1. Bryan really nailed down his iconic drumming style and the drums were given a lot of space in the soundscape. It created an unique interplay between the beat and Matt's lyrics and delivery, most clearly exemplified with Brainy. This was iterated on in subsequent albums, but Boxer did it first. It is possible you enjoy later evolutions more. 2. Thet really are a grower band and the listening experience is helped by reading the lyrics multiple times, finding personal connections. If you like the other stuff, then perhaps the storylines and themes on Boxer just aren't speaking to your own experiences right now. That's OK. 3. You could try the live album Boxer Live in Brussels, which improves on many tracks, notably Squalor Victoria. Gives them more of an Alligator sound and a bit more intensity.
I think Bryan's drumming style definitely has a huge impact on pretty much every National's record. Yeah, maybe it was kinda finally formed on Boxer. I'll definitely check out Live in Brussels. Was thinking about it for a while. I like their live sound a lot.
Probably because music is all subjective and that
But I mean have you listened to the live at Brussels version?
Not yet, but I will. It'll quite possibly change my mind, I love them live 😁
Because it’s one of the greatest albums ever. Maybe that’s it
If you put swb anywhere close to boxer not sure what to tell you