The National

1991–2006: Formation and early years

Matt Berninger and Scott Devendorf met in 1991 while attending the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) graphic design program, where they also met Mike Brewer, Casey Reas, and Jeff Salem. Together, the five of them formed the lo-fi garage band Nancy, named after Berninger's mother, aspiring to sound like Pavement. The band was together for five years, and released one album, Ruther 3429, on Wife Records before breaking up after Berninger, Devendorf, Reas and Salem moved to Brooklyn. Bryan, Bryce, and Aaron were childhood friends who played in several bands together over the years. When their last effort, Project Nim, broke up in 1998, they joined Matt and Scott in Brooklyn by way of the...

Origin of the band name

Regarding the band name, the National, Matt Berninger explained in a 2007 interview:

Musical style

Aaron and Bryce Dessner write and develop the music which Matt Berninger then responds to, building lyrics on the music Aaron and Bryce have written. Berninger has said that the melody and the rhythm come first and then words and imagery will start to stick to a melody, stating, "I never sit and fill a journal with lyrics." Kitty Empire in The Guardian characterized the band as exploring "literate rock that presents at first as artily sombre, and eventually as one of the most nuanced 21st-century iterations of what used to be known as college rock".

Fake Empire

"Fake Empire" is a song by Brooklyn-based indie rock band The National from their fourth studio album, Boxer. The song was released in June 2008 as the album's third and final single.

Production

"Fake Empire" was written by Bryce Dessner of The National. Commenting on the song's initial concept, he said, "Conceptually I said I would love to write a song that was based on a certain polyrhythm, the four-over-three pattern, which is what you hear in the piano. It's something I, personally, have never heard in rock music. What's interesting is the song sounds like it's in four, but it's in three. The harmonies and the way I'm playing the piano music are actually incredibly simple – sort of like "Chopsticks" simple – with this really weird rhythm. At the end we said, 'Oh, wouldn't it be cool if we had a horn fanfare?' so Padma [Newsome] wrote this very Steve Reichian minimalist horn fanfare."

Reception

Allmusic considered "Fake Empire" one of The National's best songs, and described it as a song that "begins as a dead-of-night ballad that echoes Leonard Cohen, then peppy brass and guitars turn it into something joyous." Mark Mordue of WAtoday called "Fake Empire" "one of the great rock'n'roll songs" of 2007. He described it as "a romantic-sounding tune marked by a quiet declaration that 'We're half awake in a fake empire,' [which] married the lonely-guy blues of a New York night to a veiled critique of American imperialism. In short, it expressed the feelings of being lost inside a dream." Stylus Magazine ranked "Fake Empire" as the 7th-best song of 2007.

Cover versions

Danny Seim of Menomena recorded a cover of the song in 2008 for his solo project, Lackthereof, on the album Your Anchor.

Bloodbuzz Ohio

"Bloodbuzz Ohio" is a single by indie rock band the National, from their fifth studio album, High Violet. It is notable for Matt Berninger's baritone vocals.

It was made available for download on the band's website on March 24, 2010. The song was also released on 7" vinyl on May 3, 2010.

Critical reception

One Thirty BPM described the track as "the beating heart of High Violet and most alarming insight into the psyche of the album." Pitchfork called it "a tense, drawn-out build with Matt Berninger's weathered baritone lording all over everything."

Music video

Matt Berninger is the main focus of the first video from High Violet which shows him dapper in a suit, holding a drink, and walking the streets of New York City, seemingly lost in thought as he sings. Documentary film director D.A. Pennebaker appears in a cameo in the video, playing a bartender.