Review: The National – Laugh Track

As the National’s second full-length album of 2023, Laugh Track emphasizes both the strengths and the weaknesses of its predecessor.

 

Whenever most bands release two albums in a short span, there’s usually a thematic reason for doing so. Last year, Jack White gave us the hard-rocking Fear of the Dawn in the spring, and then the folksy, and Americana-rooted Entering Heaven Alive in the late summer. In 2019, Foals released the two parts of Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost six months apart; the first part was electronic and angular, the second part was raw and heavy.

The National did not follow this rule when they surprise-released Laugh Track fewer than five months after The First Two Pages of Frankenstein. The two albums are very similar, mostly because Laugh Track “features material originally started in the same sessions” as its predecessor. While the album isn’t quite a carbon copy, Laugh Track emphasizes both the strengths and the weaknesses of The First Two Pages of Frankenstein.

Although the National billed Laugh Track as a “companion” to The First Two Pages of Frankenstein, they were keen to emphasize that its songs “had a lot of locomotion in them,” in contrast to its milder predecessor. The band attributed this to the heavier use of live drumming this time around, instead of leaning on drum machines and programmed tracks. To their credit, Laugh Track is actually a little more attention-grabbing than Frankenstein, and it is mostly thanks to Bryan Devendorf’s drumming. He steals the show on the back-to-back tracks “Turn Off the House” and “Dreaming,” where his deft work contrasts nicely against minimal guitar melodies . “Alphabet City” is certainly a more urgent opening track than “Once Upon a Poolside,” with snaps of snare drums and string outros that create an air of tension. On the album highlight “Deep End (Paul’s in Pieces),” the propelling drum beat and shouts of “Paul’s in Pieces!” make it an uncharacteristically lively effort from the National.

The most attention-grabbing aspect of The First Two Pages of Frankenstein was that it had some really big-name guests on it, including Sufjan Stevens, Phoebe Bridgers, and Taylor Swift. Laugh Track likewise has some big names on its roster, including Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver), Rosanne Cash, and once again, Phoebe Bridgers. While these guests were somewhat difficult to distinguish on The First Two Pages of Frankenstein, as their voices always were mixed with Berninger’s, Laugh Track tends to utilize them better. For example, Phoebe Bridgers is a much more detectable presence on the album’s title track, singing the refrains by herself. “Crumble” has a bit of a country twang in its guitars, but Roseanne Cash’s voice really gives it that heartland feel. Most notably, Justin Vernon’s unique falsetto is audible throughout much of “Weird Goodbyes,” which was released as a standalone single last year. While figuring out where to put this track was apparently a catalyst for making Laugh Track (guitarist Aaron Dessner said “let’s give ‘Weird Goodbyes’ its own home”), it ironically seems like it would have been a better fit for The First Two Pages of Frankenstein with its drum machine beat and mellow tone.

Now, if there was one common complaint about both The First Two Pages of Frankenstein and the National’s music in general, it’s that they’re frankly a little boring. Music critic Anthony Fantano’s review of the last album was just a nine minute video of himself sleeping. Admittedly, the band don’t always fight this impression on Laugh Track. “Hornets” is a slow, shuffling track that never really builds into anything, and its lyrics about a relationship in crisis (“I don’t wanna talk to you, because I don’t wanna fight”) are something we’ve heard ad nauseam from the National. However, the greatest lyrical retread comes during “Coat on a Hook,” where lines about leaving parties feel like a cross between the band’s previous songs “Slow Show” and “Nobody Else Will Be There.” This track at least has a gradually building beat to keep its instrumentation interesting, but unfortunately the same can’t be said for its successor track, “Tour Manager,” which just drags. The album’s centerpiece “Space Invader” opens like it might also be a candidate for these descriptors of monotony, but thankfully it subverts expectations halfway through by shifting to a grandiose and climactic finale where vocalist Matt Berninger repeatedly mumbles “Quarter after four in the morning, my heart’s software gore, why’d I leave it like that?”

The most interesting feature of Laugh Track is that it saved its best song for last. The closing track “Smoke Detector” sounds nothing like the rest of the album, or anything they’ve really done in the past decade. It was recorded spontaneously during a soundcheck before a show in June, and at almost eight minutes long, it’s the band’s longest studio track they’ve ever released. It’s chaotic piece with a quick tempo, distorted guitar riffs, and unparalleled intensity thanks to Berninger’s completely rambling and stream-of-consciousness style lyrics. For a band that’s only seemed to grow increasingly refined over the past 20-plus years and settling into their “sad dad rock” style, it’s incredibly refreshing to hear them record something so raw.

“Smoke Detector” aside, it does bear repeating that Laugh Track is altogether very similar to The First Two Pages of Frankenstein. It is a little more energetic, largely thanks to its drumming, and does provide its guest vocalists with more standalone airtime, but this feels like splitting hairs. Five months after its release, I’ll admit that I haven’t really returned to The First Two Pages of Frankenstein too much as a whole, and can only recall its stronger tracks, like “Tropic Morning News” and “Eucalyptus.” I imagine Laugh Track will be the same, with tracks like “Deep End (Paul’s in Pieces)” and “Space Invader” securing repeat listens. Mostly, it is “Smoke Detector” that truly sets this album apart, ensuring that Laugh Track isn’t written off as “something else from the National’s ‘mild’ period” and makes me excited for the National again.

Rating: 7/10