The National, Brixton Academy | reviews, news & interviews
The National, Brixton Academy
The National, Brixton Academy
Lead singer is out of sorts in a show that smoulders but never catches fire
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
It just didn't happen: The NationalKeith Klenowski
I spent a long time waiting for this gig to take off, but eventually realised that it wasn’t going to happen. To begin with I thought the band were just pacing themselves, playing a slow-burning set that would eventually explode into life, opening with the modest thrum of “The Runaway”, and following it with the similarly restrained “Anyone’s Ghost” and “Mistaken for Strangers”. But in the end, although The National moved up through the gears and finished the show with a big warm finale, still, it all seemed a bit flat.
I spent a long time waiting for this gig to take off, but eventually realised that it wasn’t going to happen. To begin with I thought the band were just pacing themselves, playing a slow-burning set that would eventually explode into life, opening with the modest thrum of “The Runaway”, and following it with the similarly restrained “Anyone’s Ghost” and “Mistaken for Strangers”. But in the end, although The National moved up through the gears and finished the show with a big warm finale, still, it all seemed a bit flat.
As the show progressed, the tension between band members became palpable
Explore topics
Share this article
Add comment
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more New music
Review - Garfunkel & Garfunkel: Father & Son
Over-arranged
Tucker Zimmerman, The Lexington, London review - undersung old-timer airs songwriting excellence
Rare and welcome appearance from superb and now octagenarian American singer-songwriter
Album: Primal Scream - Come Ahead
The Scream finally knock out the album we’ve been hoping for
Album: Alley Cat - The Widow Project
Enter a haunted factory and quiver in the shadows with a dubstep auteur
Bob Vylan, O2 Institute, Birmingham review - self-proclaimed most important band in the UK blow the roof off
Political punk-rappers see the weekend out with a bang
Album: Møster! - Springs
Norwegian supergroup merges jazz with rock’s outer edges
Music Reissues Weekly: Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Singles
Plugging a gap in the story of the soul giant
Album: Chuck Prophet - Wake the Dead
Rock'n'roll master dances past the graveyard with cumbia rhythms and quizzically cocked eyebrow
Album: Willie Nelson - Last Leaf on the Tree
The 91-year-old’s 153rd album is more than a farewell to arms – it’s a late-career classic
Album: The Cure - Songs of a Lost World
Sadness and finality have rarely felt so life-affirming
Album: Peter Perrett - The Cleansing
Depth, humour and bucket loads of cool from the former Only One
Book Extract: Where Songs Come From - The Lyrics and Origin Stories of 150 Solo and Carter USM Songs by Jim Bob
Jim Bob introduces a chapter from his new book, a combined autobiography, lyrical overview and love letter to London
Comments
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...