The National have already proven themselves masters of emotionally brimming indie rock; Sleep Well Beast has made them untouchable.
It still feels like it's holding charms that will unfurl with more listens. It is an incredibly cohesive album though - it operates in its own defined space and has an intense frostiness to, which, for The National, is saying something.
It’s by turns harsh and sweet, downcast and uplifting, angry and resigned. In spite of how quiet it can be, and what the title might instruct, Sleep Well Beast is never restful. In fact, it may be The National’s most agitated album yet.
Sleep Well Beast sees The National flourish with candid lyrics and diverse song craft, embodying the band’s continuing evolution and life’s constant change.
These are National songs, and there are certain expectations; but Sleep Well Beast just finds the band meeting them with a consistency not seen since Boxer.
We keep expecting them to hit their creative plateau, and yet, seven albums in, they continue to raise the bar for what their sound is capable of. If this is why we had to wait four years after 2013’s Trouble Will Find Me, it was certainly worth it.
Sleep Well Beast is the sound of one of the best bands of this decade pulling new sounds into their repertoire and making those sounds wholly theirs. It's difficult to deny music this well-crafted and affecting—and perhaps being able to make anything beautiful and affirming in the Trump era is notable. This is the band's best album since Boxer, and will stand as one of the year's best.
Sleep Well Beast is the place where the walls between the National’s past demons and their anxiety for the future have violently fractured, provoking It’s a lesson that no matter how dark it can get down there, all our monsters can be put to bed.
To my mind it’s the best National album since Boxer; and for argument’s sake, Devendorf’s drumming hasn’t been this vital for ten years.
Sleep Well Beast certainly takes the air out of the hopeful balloon that swelled on Trouble Will Find Me, but if there’s ever been a time to wallow in lush, masculine melancholy, it’s now. This beast isn’t going anywhere.
‘Sleep Well Beast’ is a nuanced, intricate record and one that really flourishes numerous listens in. The National have long been a band to focus on the details but that’s the case here more than ever.
Nothing on Sleep Well Beast is headline-new. But you are either in singer Matt Berninger’s corner, clinging on as he drills down into his anxieties, or you are wondering why even validated white guys in first-world countries can still eat themselves up inside so insatiably.
For anyone with Borderline Personality Disorder, Sleep Well Beast is your anthemic survival guide to the modern world. Dismiss them at your peril. they’re not done yet.
The National’s back-catalogue steps the line between matter-of-fact realism and existential dread, and Sleep Well Beast succeeds in pushing past the narcissisms and ironies of their previous album Trouble Will Find Me into a more expansive realm of abstract thought.
Sleep Well Beast is a more subdued record that shows evidence of their solo side projects having shaped their new direction. Those who know that a new National album often requires multiple listens to fully grow and reveal its charms and nuances will have their patience rewarded, as this is a beautiful piece of work.
Sleep Well Beast is undoubtedly richly textured, but it still demands the listener lean in.
Adding such constituent parts together, Sleep Well Beast is The National firing on all cylinders, battery fully charged, tyres pumped – and with shades on to hide the bruising caused by loss of love.
For most veteran bands, the beast is complacency. The National slays it here and stays on top of the rock world in the process.
Sleep Well Beast is as sad a record as The National have ever made, and yet it also feels like their most hopeful.
Sleep Well Beast, the National's best LP since Boxer, features some of the band's most raucous numbers to date, as well as a newfound use of electronics.
Electronics are used for texture and shade, vocal harmonies glide through the mix, pianos anchor a couple of tunes -- all subtle gradients within the National's recognizable formula, but they're enough to give Sleep Well Beast a distinct character.
The changes are slight in Sleep Well Beast, but they still render quite significantly in view of how they have a pressure to upend any expectations.
Nuanced, understated, restrained: you could apply the same adjectives to much of the music here, which turns out to be rather more of a mixed blessing.
“Dad Rock” or not, Sleep Well Beast is anything but complacent and it doesn’t skew from the high-caliber rock and roll the band has been producing since day one.
This isn’t The National’s finest album – for my money, that’s still High Violet, or if I’m feeling fruity, Alligator – but there’s much to cherish on Sleep Well Beast. And it really matters that a band as capable of thoughtful, intimate commentary (both personal and political) are as big as The National are now.
The majority of the record is a pretty, well-produced National album that should satisfy anyone who’s been missing them, but there are enough shiny new tidbits to hook the otherwise unconverted.
There is, after all, an inherent paradox facing any band at this stage in their career: remain stagnant and you'll risk being labelled tiring; stray too far and you may alienate the substantial following you've amassed over the years. Thankfully, the National have deftly manage that balancing act with Sleep Well Beast, a record that is equal parts familiar and fresh.
Sleep Well Beast is The National's most vibrant and engaging set of songs in years.
The National continues to display highly polished craftsmanship of simmering balladry on Sleep Well Beast.
There’s no question that The National know how to compose gripping music, but there execution isn’t on point. Sounding a little tired on their latest effort, the band carries all the sonic brilliance without any passion and often without enough ambition.
This album makes me feel like i'm 90 years old living alone in a small cabin in the middle of nowhere reflecting on everything i've ever been through, ridiculously moving arrangements and melodies accompanied with some crushingly gorgeous writing. Top 5 album of 2017 for sure, should've given it more time when it initially came out honestly.
TANGENT TIME!
I feel like I always set these goals for like my 100th review, my 200th review, even though I’m only at 68. And to be honest, I have no idea why I do it. All it ends up doing is delaying reviews I want to do. I get so caught up in these things that I begin to forget this site’s purpose: just a place to rate and review albums. Nothing more and nothing less.
I’ve also found myself at a bit of a crossroads in terms of how to rate albums. I hate reviewing in a ... read more
I think the beast has slept
The National is honestly such a consistently good band. I’m surprised out how good all of their albums are up till this point (excluding the debut). This one turned out to be one of my favorites. This is just plain beautiful. Pretty much every track feels so personal and well executed. Is this the most personal album by The National? I’m not sure, but this one feels special in that way. Another thing that really caught my ear with this one specifically ... read more
Track Ratings:
Nobody Else Will Be There (9.1/10)
Day I Die (10/10)
Walk It Back (8.7/10)
The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness (9.4/10)
Born to Beg (8.3/10)
Turtleneck (9.6/10)
Empire Line (8.5/10)
I'll Still Destroy You (8.7/10)
Guilty Party (8.5/10)
Carin at the Liquor Store (8.4/10)
Dark Side of the Gym (8.7/10)
Sleep Well Beast (9.1/10)
Other Factors:
Vocals: 9.2/10
Instrumentals: 9.6/10
Songwriting: 9/10
Production: 10/10
Cohesion: 9/10
Overall:
90/100
short review-
the one thing limiting it from reaching boxer levels of quality is the fact that some of the tracks near the early middle of the tracklist are pretty mindnumbingly boring. however, the last four tracks are actually a truly amazing run. "i'll still destroy you" has this incredible climactic moment that calls back "high violet" for me, and "dark side of the gym" (fav pink floyd album) has this super nice crackly mix. the closer is also super calm and ... read more
1 | Nobody Else Will Be There 4:39 | 93 |
2 | Day I Die 4:31 | 92 |
3 | Walk It Back 5:59 | 85 |
4 | The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness 3:56 | 92 |
5 | Born to Beg 4:22 | 81 |
6 | Turtleneck 3:00 | 84 |
7 | Empire Line 5:23 | 86 |
8 | I'll Still Destroy You 5:15 | 92 |
9 | Guilty Party 5:38 | 89 |
10 | Carin at the Liquor Store 3:33 | 86 |
11 | Dark Side of the Gym 4:50 | 90 |
12 | Sleep Well Beast 6:31 | 85 |
#1 | / | Sputnikmusic |
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#5 | / | musicOMH |
#5 | / | The Sunday Times |
#6 | / | American Songwriter |