Music Review

The National's new album takes misery to the next level - & it's fab

'Sleep Well Beast' isn't quite The National's best album ever, but it's close

17 September 2017 - 00:00 By pearl boshomane tsotetsi

Is he going through a divorce?" read a WhatsApp I sent to a friend a few songs into The National's new album, Sleep Well Beast.
The "he" is Matt Berninger, the band's frontman, he of the delicious baritone dripping honey, even as a vessel for anxiety-ridden lyrics.
Of course, the assumption that an artist's work is autobiographical is outdated, but how else is one supposed to interpret lyrics like: "I'm at a loss. I'm losing grip. The fabric's ripped. Go back to sleep, let me drive, let me think, let me figure it out. How to get us back to the place where we were when we first went out"?..

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