The National - High Violet
(Expanded Edition)
4.5/5
With their New Zealand gigs just around the corner - and the well-deserved hype that brings - The National are making new fans by the day.
And though long-time admirers may not appreciate having to buy another copy of High Violet to get their hands on
the extra tracks here, newcomers are in for a treat.
High Violet, when reviewed in these pages in July, received a rating of four out of five stars.
It's a better album than that but had to be seen in the context of its predecessors - the superb Alligator and masterpiece Boxer.
The limited-edition bonus disc includes an alternative version of the much-debated Terrible Love, its mixing a lowpoint of the original album.
There are live versions of album tracks Bloodbuzz Ohio, Anyone's Ghost and England.
Live, England retains its majesty - as you would expect. It's an Arcade Fire-like spectacle of a track just made for the stage.
The others pale a little as live versions often do.
Of the remaining tracks, which are nice enough, the highlight is You Were A Kindness, a heavy, beautiful piece sad enough to make you cry.
