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• ngs091

  Posted: 7/13/2010 10:03:56 PM

  (7.3 Out of 10) The first four songs of The National’s Boxer will put a lump in the listener’s throat with tales of lovelorn. Matt Berninger’s baritone singing sounds like Leonard Cohen in its raw form, with the second track, Mistaken For Strangers, takes on the form of the best song on the album, as it pairs literate lyrics with hooks and sophisticated, classy arrangements. Fake Empire is tender, while Squalor Victoria is elating, and Brainy has a solid drum punch. Actually, each of these four songs do all these elements at once to slightly varying effect, and at this point in the album The National’s aspirations feel nearly pitch-perfect. Yet, after that point Boxer starts getting bland, and stalls more often on songs such as Start A War, Gospel, and Racing Like A Pro. The other five songs are good, but feel minute next to the first third of the album. Boxer is an album undone by its initial high watermark.

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