Stream: 'High Violet' - The National

Awash with expectation, the time for The National to reveal their hand is nigh. Due for release on May 11th, High Violet has been kept strictly under wraps with the exception of Bloodbuzz Ohio and Afraid of Everyone. To date The National have existed, to a large extent, on the periphery but with the deliberate drip feed of tracks from Violet and a stunning rendition of the album's opener Terrible Love on the Jimmy Fallon show a month ago, there's an increasing momentum behind the band's progress from everyone's favourite other band to the band du jour. Initial reaction i.e. track 1, is that their studio version of Terrible Love pales in comparison to the incendiary version on Fallon. But this is The National and they do getting under your skin records better than anyone.
Stream: High Violet (via NY Times)