The National play new album, ‘First Two Pages of Frankenstein’, in full at intimate show
A crowd of 400 lucky fans of The National were treated to an intimate live performance at Bearsville Theater in Woodstock on Saturday night (March 4th). Ahead of the release of their ninth studio album, First Two Pages of Frankenstein, in April, the band paid their dues to the community they’ve been surrounded by while recording in Aaron Dessner’s studio in nearby Hudson.
The band have almost exclusively recorded there since 2017’s Sleep Well Beast, surrounded by some of the best natural scenery New York has to offer. Dessner has used his Long Pond studio to record other projects with award-winning artists like Taylor Swift, who he collaborated with on her albums Folklore and Evermore, often described as her strongest works to date. Swift will make an appearance on the track ‘The Alcott’ from The National’s new album, a duet between her and lead singer Matt Berninger.
The band played their new album in full during the show, excluding ‘The Alcott’, for unexplained reasons. Five of the songs were debuted live for the first time, making the show extra special. The band opened with the never before heard ‘Once Upon A Poolside’, described as a piano-led ballad. Many people will be pleased to discover that this track features Sufjan Stevens on the record. They also debuted their new single ‘New Order T-Shirt’ live, a more uptempo cut.
The 19-song-long setlist featured live debuts of ‘Alien’, ‘Send For Me’ and ‘Your Mind Is Not Your Friend’. Along with ‘This Isn’t Helping’, the latter features one of indie rock’s most coveted stars, Phoebe Bridgers. The album will be released on April 24th via 4AD.
Recently, Dessner has worked with Ed Sheeran on his upcoming album Subtract, which he helped to write and produce. He explained on Instagram, “I couldn’t be more proud of this record and the vulnerability and honesty Ed showed in making these songs with me.”
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