The National — Boxer

I was going to write this whole thing about indie bands who make one great record and then a whole bunch of good ones, but the more I listen to Boxer, the more convinced I am that it's on par with or maybe even better than Alligator. On a production level, it's miles ahead of its predecessor. "Mistaken For Strangers" fills headphones with its dark sonics and Matt Berninger's thick vocals. The same can be said for "Squalor Victoria," a track drowning in a sea of vivid imagery, where Berninger sings, "Underline everything/I'm a professional/In my beloved white shirt." The lyrics throughout sound more like poetic musings than the words of a rock band, and they give The National the kind of weight that consistently lifts them above their contemporaries.