The National returned to The Anthem recently for two sold-out shows promoting their newest record, First Two Pages of Frankenstein. The album, seemingly trying the split the middle between their older work and the band’s more electronic sound since 2019’s Sleep Well Beast, has met with divided opinion on the internet but I was eager to see if the material translated more effusively in a live setting.

And for the most part it did. For me, the drum-forward sounds of Boxer and Trouble Will Find Me are where the National set themselves apart so their decision to rely more on drum machine and electronic drum effects seems curious, but new songs like “New Order T-Shirt,” “Grease in Your Hair,” and “Tropic Morning News” sounded more full-bodied in person. They also took the opportunity to debut a brand new song called “Coat on a Hook,” which was very catchy and featured some impressive guitar interplay between brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner.