I Am Easy To Find – The National ★★★

Year	Album	Artist	Stars	Score	Genre
2019	I Am Easy To Find	The National	★★★	66	Rock	Art Rock	Chamber Pop

I Am Easy To Find represents the biggest swing The National have taken to date.  Not only is it the band’s longest record, clocking in at over an hour and 15 tracks, the album is ambitious, with grand musical swells, dynamic and tempo contrasts, interludes that piece the album together and a list of collaborators and co-musicians as talented and deep as an NFL playoff roster.  

The National here rely heavily on chamber music — like string orchestrations and choir pieces — as Aaron Dessner’s softer musical touches mix well with the album’s guest stars, who each bring new perspectives the band haven’t explored before. Matt Berninger even takes a backseat on a number of verses and entire tracks to make way for the new voices. 

I Am Easy To Find is maybe a little too artsy at times and definitely has a few too many tracks for anyone to really love the entire record. But the standout moments and overall songwriting are stellar, with songs that are highly emotional and range in energy and style. The massive undertaking required to stitch all the elements together is admirable. 

Most importantly, the record still features moments that really rock with the best of The National’s early catalog. “You Had Your Soul With You,” “The Pull of You,” “Where Is Her Head” and “Rylan” all have  some real power to them thanks to driving drums, guitar riffs and dynamic vocal performances. And they contrasted really well with piano-based ballads like “Quiet Light,” the title track and “Light Years,” which are three of the best tracks Matt Berninger’s ever written.

There’s a bit too much fat here for it to be a great record, and I don’t find myself going back to listen start to finish often, but there’s plenty to like and appreciate, and a handful of songs that will be in heavy rotation every time I’m in the mood to listen to The National.