It’s official: The National are a great band.

The Cincinnati group’s newly released LP, High Violet, is their third stellar album in a row, completing the astonishing trilogy they began with 2005’s Alligator and 2007’s Boxer. Like those records, High Violet finds the band in peak form, maintaining a calculated mastery of their material that begins when the needle drops and doesn’t let up until the final track fades away. Continue reading…