The National.

Another 2007 release that I’m just discovering is the latest album from The National, titled Boxer. Paste Magazine just featured them in a cover story. By the way, Paste Magazine is what Rolling Stone Magazine used to be before it had to put Cameron Diaz on the cover just to sell magazines. Paste comes out once a month and includes a CD of the artists featured in the issue. I look forward to its arrival each month and have discovered so much amazing new music thanks to the ultra-hip staff at Paste. The National, hailing from the birthplace of my Mom and Dad-- Brooklyn, is what indie-rock is all about: moody and dark and beautiful and full of hooks that keep you interested. Together with a tender, baritone-voiced lead singer and sparse arrangements, this collection is a winner. Think Joy Division, Elliott Smith, early New Order and the latest from Iron and Wine. The songs Fake Empire, Start a War, and Mistaken for Strangers are standouts. I’d read about The National in the past, mistook them for strangers and never gave them a listen—please don’t make the same mistake.