News

March 15, 2010

The National Name New Album, Play Fallon and Bell House

As of early last month, The National had announced that their new album, still untitled, would come out in May, specific date also unknown. Well, you can now fill in those details - last week, news broke that the album shall henceforth be known as High Violet and it shall be available in fine retailers and e-tailers on May 11th.

In addition, the band put up HighViolet.com, a microsite featuring a few clips shot from the studio and a rotating set of pictures (a la AmericanMary.com) taken during the recording sessions. While bloggers were busy posting the new album cover (left) and linking readers to the new website, the band appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, where they debuted "Terrible Love" from High Violet. Fallon You can watch the band make noise with friends (including Thomas and Padma) below:




The group followed up their late night television appearance with two surprise shows at The Bell House in Brooklyn, where they played their new ditties before sold-out crowds. More media for you to listen to and look at, courtesy of Pitchfork and BrooklynVegan:

Matt Berninger sings while Scott Devendorf takes care of the low end. (Photo by Tim Griffin.)

Bryce Dessner plays a guitar that roughly matches the color of the background. (Photo by Tim Griffin.)

The band plays one of the songs listed below. (Photo by Tim Griffin.)

The setlist. (Photo by Tim Griffin.)

If you were unable to attend the Bell House shows, no need to worry - you can catch the band as they support High Violet over the next few months. The band's next stop is the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN, later this March. For a full list of dates, head over to the Shows Page.

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