The National	Sleep Well Beast [Japan Edition]
4AD	Sept. 8th, 2017

 ^{The National — Sleep Well Beast [Japan Edition] (Sept. 8th, 2017)}   ↑↓★↑↓     Heartfelt and quietly anthemic indie rockers whose sound takes in alt~country and chamber pop.
↑↓★↑↓     “Difficult to do better for “The National”. One of the albums of the year. Musically near perfection. I have never heard a drum sound so refined. Quite a nice conclusion on “Dark Side of the Gym”: movie soundtrack twist!” — Gilbert Dumont
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Album release: September 8, 2017
Recording Location: Funkhaus, Berlin, Future Past, Hudson, NY, Illegoland, Long Pond, Michelberger Hotel, Berlin  Studio Saint Germain
Record Label: 4AD
Duration:     57:39 + 20:42 => 78:21
Tracks:
CD1
01. Nobody Else Will Be There     4:40
02. Day I Die     4:32
03. Walk It Back     5:59
04. The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness     3:57
05. Born to Beg     4:23
06. Turtleneck     3:00
07. Empire Line     5:24
08. I’ll Still Destroy You     5:15
09. Guilty Party     5:39
10. Carin at the Liquor Store     3:34
11. Dark Side of the Gym     4:50
12. Sleep Well Beast     6:31
CD2
1. Wasp Nest (Toronto 4/10/14)     3:34
2. Bloodbuzz Ohio (Austin 4/23/14)     5:25
3. Brainy (Copenhagen 11/2/13)     3:37
4. Exile Vilify (Warsaw 6/9/14)     4:32
5. Sea of Love (Berlin 6/5/14)     3:34
Written by:
↑↓★↑↓     Matthew Berninger / Carin Besser / Aaron Dessner / Bryce Dessner     1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
↑↓★↑↓     Matthew Berninger / Carin Besser / The National     2
Members:
★     Matt Berninger  classic baritone voice/(born Feb. 13, 1971)
★     Aaron Dessner  songwriter, multi~instrumentalist and producer/(born Apr. 23, 1976)
★     Bryce Dessner  composer, guitarist, and curator/(born Apr. 23, 1976)
★     Bryan Devendorf  drums
★     Scott Devendorf   bass guitar
Credits:
↑↓★↑↓     Thomas Bartlett Keyboards
↑↓★↑↓     Eric Beach Drums, Percussion
↑↓★↑↓     Matthew Berninger Composer, Gr M, Producer
↑↓★↑↓     Carin Besser Composer
↑↓★↑↓     Romain Bly Horn
↑↓★↑↓     Cédric Bonnet Horn
↑↓★↑↓     Benachir Boukhatem Viola
↑↓★↑↓     Greg Calbi Mastering
↑↓★↑↓     Andrea Trabucco Campos Design
↑↓★↑↓     Erwan Castex Electronic Percussion, Keyboards
↑↓★↑↓     David Chalmin Drums, Engineer
↑↓★↑↓     Sarah Chenaf Viola
↑↓★↑↓     Marc Desjardins Violin
↑↓★↑↓     Aaron Dessner Composer, Drum Programming, Engineer, Gr M, Producer
↑↓★↑↓     Bryce Dessner Composer, Drum Programming, Gr M, Orchestration, Producer
↑↓★↑↓     Bryan Devendorf Drum Programming, Gr M
↑↓★↑↓     Scott Devendorf Gr M, Bass Guitar
↑↓★↑↓     Grégoire Dubruel Basse
↑↓★↑↓     Emilie Duch~Sauzeau Violin
↑↓★↑↓     Arone Dyer Vocals
↑↓★↑↓     Steve Fallone Mastering
↑↓★↑↓     Marine Gandon Viola
↑↓★↑↓     Thomas Garoche Basse
↑↓★↑↓     Domitille Gilon Violin
↑↓★↑↓     Elyanna Blaser Gould Design
↑↓★↑↓     Lisa Hannigan Vocals
↑↓★↑↓     Pauline Hauswirth Violin
↑↓★↑↓     Luke Hayman Design
↑↓★↑↓     Ella Jarrige Cello
↑↓★↑↓     Charlotte Juillard Violin
↑↓★↑↓     Peter Katis Mixing, Producer
↑↓★↑↓     Josh Kaufman Guitar
↑↓★↑↓     Katia Labèque Piano
↑↓★↑↓     Emma Landarrabilco Flute
↑↓★↑↓     Benjamin Lanz Synthesizer, Trombone
↑↓★↑↓     Louise Lapierre Bassoon
↑↓★↑↓     Barbara Le Liepvre Cello
↑↓★↑↓     Nick Lloyd Organ
↑↓★↑↓     Jonathan Low Engineer, Mixing
↑↓★↑↓     Graham Macindoe Photography
↑↓★↑↓     Walter Martin Vox Continental
↑↓★↑↓     James McAlister Drum Programming
↑↓★↑↓     The National Arranger, Composer
↑↓★↑↓     Erlend Neumann Design
↑↓★↑↓     Bastien Nouri Oboe
↑↓★↑↓     Sean O’Brien Vocal Engineer
↑↓★↑↓     Ryan Olson Processing
↑↓★↑↓     Matthias Piccin Violin
↑↓★↑↓     Leslie Boulin Raulet Violin
↑↓★↑↓     Kyle Resnick Flugelhorn, Trumpet, Vocals
↑↓★↑↓     Renaud Guy Rousseau Clarinet
↑↓★↑↓     Juliette Salmona Cello
↑↓★↑↓     Nikolai Spassov Violin
↑↓★↑↓     Ariadna Teyssier Violin
↑↓★↑↓     Andi Toma Engineer, Keyboards, Processing
↑↓★↑↓     Jason Treuting Drums, Percussion
↑↓★↑↓     Maaike Van Der Linde Flute, Flute (Bass), Orchestration
↑↓★↑↓     Justin Vernon Synthesizer, Vocals
↑↓★↑↓     Jan St. Werner Engineer, Keyboards, Processing
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine;  Score: ****
ι♣♦οι     The National never seem in a hurry to reach their destination, but there’s a sense of quiet urgency on Sleep Well Beast, their seventh album. Much of that momentum arrives in arrangements that generally tend to eschew the grayscale of its 2013 predecessor, Trouble Will Find Me, a record that felt sculpted so that each element was elegantly interlocked. Comparatively, Sleep Well Beast draws attention to itself through the occasional squall of noise (“The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness”) and rushed tempo (“Turtleneck”), but also through an expanded sonic palette. Electronics are used for texture and shade, vocal harmonies glide through the mix, pianos anchor a couple of tunes — all subtle gradients within the National’s recognizable formula, but they’re enough to give Sleep Well Beast a distinct character. Such a shift may not be startling, particularly since it takes a while for album opener “Nobody Else Will Be There” to fade into view, but by the time the murmuring title track evaporates, it’s evident that Sleep Well Beast offers a journey with satisfying detours. This is a welcome departure (and perhaps necessary complement) to Trouble Will Find Me, which celebrated its finely manicured stillness.
ι♣♦οι     While Sleep Well Beast offers more than its fair share of hushed moments — the National design their music to be lean~in listening, requiring an investment from their audience not only so that the lyrics can be deciphered, but so the subdued shifts in emphasis seem dynamic — this familiar signature seems enhanced by the fact that these soft, slow songs are surrounded by cuts where the darkness opens up slightly but significantly. It’s enough to make Sleep Well Beast feel like a dramatic departure in the close quarters of the National’s discography.   ι♣♦οι     http://www.allmusic.com/
Also:
by Jayson Greene, SEPTEMBER 8 2017 / Score: 8
ι♣♦οι     The band’s seventh album adds more chaos to their stately drama. It is full of abandon and quiet contemplation as Matt Berninger sings not about how to enjoy life, but how to simply endure it. ...... But perhaps the most resonant lyrics here speak to the band’s persistence and the durability of any long~term union. “Nothing I do/Makes me feel different,” he confesses on “I’ll Still Destroy You.” “Forget it/Nothing I change changes anything,” he offers on “Walk It Back.” Like R.E.M., whose ongoing existence became its own kind of raison d’être as they aged, the National offer testimony to something we don’t often celebrate: Enduring is a superpower of its own. The fact that no one can talk about the National without invoking their dependability might feel a bit unfair to them, or at least a bit tired. And yet, there’s a reason it remains such a dominating lens through which to examine them. Consistency is not boring. Consistency is a miracle, a small act of defiance against entropy. Berninger has compared the band to a marriage, as all band members do, but their music feels particularly devoted to the quotidian nature of lifelong unions, the way that your success is measured in time, how each year together turns your commitment into its own kind of monument. There’s a reason anniversary cards say things like “All these years later, I still love you.” It’s because the miracle isn’t in the “love,” it’s in the “still.” (excerpt)   ι♣♦οι     https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-national-sleep-well-beast/    
Website: http://americanmary.com/
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The National	Sleep Well Beast [Japan Edition]
4AD	Sept. 8th, 2017

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