“When they played The Annex, there was a girl standing next to me, sobbing hysterically. It got me thinking, “Where have I been?” – and then the greatness of The National clicked. When you find something you are passionate about, you want to share it with as many people as possible and High Violet is one of those albums that you want everyone to hear. There is a sense of sadness but also a sense of hope in High Violet’s lyrics that tell a story through its personal moments. You can be staring out the window, having coffee, but you can picture what’s going on as you are listening to the music – and really feel it. Or, you’re listening to “Little Faith” and hear the line “I’m stuck in New York, and the rain’s coming down,” – and that’s actually happening? You think, “Fuck, man, this is amazing! I listen to it now and will still listen to it fifteen years later. The National are a band that you can grow old with and still relate to. It’s not just an album of the year, but it’s one I will carry with me for life.”

The album sets a high standard for music. “Afraid of Everyone” embodies the most gut-wrenching sorrow with the electrical guitar – the buzzing, vibrating chord is so full of anguish and anxiety that its brought me to tears. You find yourself singing along – “Your voice is swallowing my soul, soul, soul…” – and somehow feel freed and clarified. There are many of these types of moments. For a few good months, it was hard to listen to anything else more than once. I longed for the beautiful darkness of High Violet. The messages: a fare warning for those that have yet to come-to-terms with being completely honest with themselves; let the chips fall and you’ll be just fine. The album has a lot of satirical humor and sarcasm – celebrating misfortune or saying things like: hey, obsessions can be healthy. Somehow there’s a nurturing peace, giving direction to live up to something. I feel better about getting old when I hear it.”

“When I listen to High Violet, everything around me seems to fade away. Time becomes solely the beginning of and end to the album. I can’t just jump into the middle – it’s all about the sequence. Even the opening track has the feeling of turning on an a.m. radio. It’s definitely meant to be taken in one complete dosage, not individual tastings. The combination of Matt Berninger’s calm and collected storyteller approach to his vocals, clock-ticking drum patterns, strings, and buried harmonies create visuals that make the songs and their subjects believable. You can picture that person, feel their emotions, understand their situation – that person could even be you. The music does most of the work but it’s when the vocals take over that it gets really powerful. There’s confession, there’s pulling at the heart. It’s a soundtrack for your life.”

“Woody Allen said that New York City moved to the music of Gershwin. It’s a city where no matter how many other people are around, somehow you still feel alone. Loneliness is the experience High Violet had given me. Not to be confused with the sense of anxiety and hopelessness that being solitary can bring, but rather the experience of being able to observe yourself and awareness of the moments alone. The album sounds like my few Manhattan nights. It’s the sounds of headlights; it’s the notes of the glass with stranger’s reflections; the images that play in my mind are the subway entrances and high statues; it’s like alley ways peppered with puddles; it’s what being on edge might sound like.”

” ‘Conversation 16′ has to be my favorite. I was going through a life altering moment and I was drowning in anxiety. I swear, I was driving down the highway in pitch blackness to this song and for about 4 minutes, I felt okay again. It was what I needed to pull through.”

“I connect to this album the same way I believe most people will. “I’m afraid of everyone,” “It takes an ocean not to break,” “I don’t have the drugs to sort it out,” “I didn’t wanna be your ghost,” “I fall asleep in your branches,” – all phrases from different tracks on the album that amount to maintaining sanity while a relationship crumbles. When people go through a meaningful relationship – good or bad, brief or long – once it’s over, you analyze what went wrong and eventually reclaim your identity. The music takes emotions and situations that people can relate to and examines them. It’s another step in the process…”