The National announce new live album ‘Rome’
The National have announced details of a new double live album, Rome, set for release on December 13th, 2024.
The forthcoming release, boasting 21 tracks, was recorded at the Cavea at Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone in Rome, Italy. The National played the historic venue on June 3rd, 2024, and the set has now been mixed by the band’s longtime collaborator Peter Katis.
For much of the last two years, The National have been glued to the road. In 2023, they completed a run of arena dates in the United Kingdom before returning this summer for outdoor shows, including Castlefield Bowl in Manchester, the Eden Project in Cornwall and a headline set on The Other Stage at Glastonbury.
2023 was a year to remember for The National as they released two new albums, First Two Pages of Frankenstein and Laugh Track. While they relied on these two records for a sizeable portion of the set-lists on tour, they made tweaks on a nightly basis, introducing an array of rarities across the lengthy run.
For example, Rome does feature a series of the band’s biggest songs such as ‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’, ‘I Need My Girl’, and ‘Fake Empire’, but The National also found time to play cult classics such as ‘The Geese of Beverly Road’ and ‘Runaway’.
To preview the upcoming LP, The National have shared four live cuts from Rome. Versions of ‘I Need My Girl’, ‘Lemonworld’, ‘The Geese of Beverly Road’, and ‘Lit Up’ are all now available to listen to on streaming platforms.
This isn’t the first time that The National have released a live album. Notably, in 2017, they celebrated the tenth anniversary of Boxer by performing the album in its entirety in Brussels, which they then shared the following year. Additionally, in 2019, they released Juicy Sonic Magic on cassette, which captured two performances in Berkeley.
However, Rome is their most comprehensive live album as it contains a career-spanning set that captures the full-breadth of The National’s catalogue and evolution over the last two decades. They are a band that have built their reputation on their ability as a live act, which they hope will be captured on Rome.
In a five-star review of The National’s performance at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, Far Out wrote: “Generally, gigs shouldn’t last more than 90 minutes, but The National are one of the rare exceptions. The set lasted almost two and a half hours, causing the band to break the venue’s 11pm curfew, and they could have played for another hour if they so desired.”
The National – Rome tracklist:
- ‘Runaway’
- ‘Eucalyptus’
- ‘Tropic Morning News’
- ‘New Order T-Shirt’
- ‘Don’t Swallow The Cap’
- ‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’
- ‘The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness’
- ‘I Need My Girl’
- ‘Lemonworld’
- ‘The Geese of Beverly Road’
- ‘Lit Up’
- ‘Alien’
- ‘Humiliation’
- ‘Murder Me Rachael’
- ‘England’
- ‘Graceless’
- ‘Fake Empire’
- ‘Smoke Detector’
- ‘Mr November’
- ‘Terrible Love’
- ‘Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks’
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