The National – Laugh Track (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Built on leftovers from the sessions for their other 2023 release, First Two Pages of Frankenstein—which featured a much-ballyhooed appearance by Taylor Swift—Laugh Track was released quietly with similar cover art, but little fanfare. It still feels good to feel bad on Laugh Track, sounding very much like an extension of its predecessor, but slightly more downbeat. “Losing my momentum, losing my mind/ Not enough to mention, not enough time/ I can’t even say what it’s about/ All I am is shreds of doubt,” vocalist Matt Berninger deadpans rather than sings in “Laugh Track” with guest Phoebe Bridgers adding little more than texture to the vocals of this dirge. Another lament about Berninger’s awkwardness, “Coat on a Hook,” opens with “Don’t leave me here at this party like a coat on a hook,” before descending into “Friendships are melting, nothing is helping/ Nothing’s worth keeping, promises cheapen.” The monotone “Tour Manager” is a throwaway, but there are moments when the band’s talents shine through, the gloom lifts and the music triumphs despite Berninger’s enveloping melancholy. The rising tempo of “Space Invader” concludes with a satisfying crash of guitars that drowns out his croaking. Rosanne Cash’s vocal presence on one verse and as Berninger’s duet partner in the choruses of “Crumble” adds character. Recorded in producer Tucker Martine’s studio in Portland, Oregon the sound is smoothly mixed with Berninger’s vocals moving up and back. Hope for the future exists in “Smoke Detector,” in which the growling guitars of brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner continually threaten to break out, as Berninger rushes through word heavy lines, perhaps hopeful his turmoil will pass: “Sit in the backyard in my pharmacy slippers/ At least I’m not on the roof anymore/ In a year or so I hope nobody remembers/ This run of episodes of my time on the floor.” – Robert Baird

Tracklist:

1-1. The National – Alphabet City (03:43)
1-2. The National – Deep End (Paul’s in Pieces) (04:29)
1-3. The National – Weird Goodbyes (feat. Bon Iver) (05:03)
1-4. The National – Turn off the House (04:35)
1-5. The National – Dreaming (03:46)
1-6. The National – Laugh Track (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) (04:24)
1-7. The National – Space Invader (06:58)
1-8. The National – Hornets (04:35)
1-9. The National – Coat on a Hook (04:58)
1-10. The National – Tour Manager (04:26)
1-11. The National – Crumble (feat. Rosanne Cash) (04:35)
1-12. The National – Smoke Detector (07:47)