JUST ANNOUNCED: The National @ The Mann 6/7

Tickets go on sale Friday.

PREVIOUSLY: The National have been described as somber, sad-core, gloomy and (by Phawker’s Editor-in-Chief) ‘Joy Division with horns.’ More importantly,  they just get more sharpened as songsmiths and recording artists with each new release as evidenced by last year’s High Violet album which they played nearly in its entirety last night, expanding the lushness, depth and stirring dynamics of the material in its live presentation. The first thing that hit you was the sound: big, beautiful, funereal, full of dizzying highs and terrifying lows and edged in an acoustic clarity rarely afforded underground rock bands. Then you were drawn to the finest instrument on the entire stage, and that of course was the voice of the singer Matt Berninger, whose expansive baritone is both world-weary and warm, melancholy like the rain and friendly as a bro-hug. He could probably sing the listings of a telephone directory, and make it sound like a lost classic, as was the case with songs like “Runaway,” “Sorrow,” and “England” were such preeminent performances last night. MORE