The National – Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers

This was the moment when it all fell into place, when the gentle building word of mouth surrounding an apparently incredible band from Brooklyn started to make sense. The moment when The National first started to become people's favourite band, the type to truly obsess over. Having the confidence to open your second album with a six-minute opus like ‘Cardinal Song’, a perfectly structured, written and delivered piece of goth-like-indie wonderment, was proof that this was a band stepping ever comfortably into their sound to explore the possibilities within. Though others may suggest Alligator and Boxer are the better albums from The National, Sad Songs’ eclectic mix of genre, structure and puffed-out confidence plead a very good case to make it The National's definitive release. (Paul Vickery)