The National – Laugh Track – Album Review
by Killian Laher

The National have just put out their second album of 2023, the surprise release Laugh Track.  After the very muted First Two Pages of Frankenstein which came out in April, little has changed on this album, right from the opener Alphabet City which follows the National’s template of moody, gently stirring piano chords, and a faint hint of electronics.

You get moody chamber pop (Turn Off the House), wide-eyed slow burners (Dreaming) and polite ballads (Tour Manager).  The seven-minute Space Invader provides something of a mid-album highlight, building to a crescendo at the end of it.  Hornets sounds a bit brighter with brass and acoustic guitar to accompany the ever-present piano.  Deep End is the ‘other type’ of song they do, more uptempo with a familiar, propulsive drum pattern.  Guests are a big part of the National’s recent albums, and this time we get Bon Iver (on Weird Goodbyes), Phoebe Bridgers (title track) and Rosanne Cash (Crumble).  This last one features some proper guitar towards the end of it from one of the Dessners (Aaron or Bryce).  But in the main, the tracks are almost interchangeable, it’s hard to register the transition from one song to the next as the whole thing is so…. consistent.

That is until you get to the last track.  The almost eight-minute Smoke Detector is mercifully different, dark and mean as opposed to just moody.  The track strides along purposefully leading to a chorus where Matt Berninger sings “You don’t know how much I love you, do you”.  It sounds very like early National (Sad Songs/Alligator-era), Berninger’s voice even slips into a higher register at times, and the track sounds better with every listen.

In the main, the album sounds very much like their last one.  I suspect the band can do this sort of thing in their sleep.  Perhaps the last track, Smoke Detector shows a way forward for the band.  Maybe next time they could bin the piano and Matt Berninger could roar a lot more as opposed to his default croon.

Alphabet City