NEW HEROES.........

Bands are like friends. The really great ones stick with you, and although you may go long periods without contact, and have other friends, you always come back to one another and pick up where you left off. It's like that for me with Madness. Throughout my life i have become acquainted with, loved and fallen out of love with, liked and disliked many bands and artists, but i've always gone back to Madness. But you get older and your life, your circumstances, your relationships all change, and you find new friends that reflect those changes. As i've gotten older and found myself in a proper relationship for the first time, i've experienced new feelings, new situations, that i didn't have the emotional language to understand or explain, and i needed a new best friend to help me make sense of it all. Enter The National. An indie rock band from Ohio, they first entered my consciousness in 2005 when their third album, Alligator, became a critical - if not commercial - success (their first album to chart here in the UK, at a lowly 165). I'd read about them in the pages of Uncut and Mojo, and seen the video for the lead single "Abel" on MTV2. I'd also heard a couple of other songs from the album on the free covermount CD's from the aforementioned magazines, "Mr November" being the one that really got me interested. So i treated myself to Alligator for Christmas that year, and my slow burning love of this band began. Slow being the right word. When i first played Alligator, i was initially a little bemused. "Abel" and "Mr November" were ramshackle and manic, but the rest of the album seemed quite low key and lacking fire. I found it a bit boring to be honest, and it was a while before i played it in full again. But over time it began to worm its way into my brain - the circular, oblique lyrics; the dark baritone of singer Matt Berninger; the deceptively simple guitar hooks; the clattering drums. Songs about adult concerns and feelings, doubt and fear, the complexity of relationships. Songs about wanting to avoid being seen ("Secret Meeting"), jealous lovers ("Lit Up"), guilt ("Friend Of Mine"), drunk fantasies ("All The Wine"), and the stress of running for President - written partially about John Kerry -("Mr November"). Through repeated listens this album has become a familiar friend, one i visit whenever i'm in a reflective mood. And it's not even their best album - each one that followed has been better than the last, and been more successful, culimnating in their latest, 2017's Sleep Well Beast, topping the album charts. The National have gone from a cult act to a chart-topping band who play the main stage at Glastonbury, not at the bottom of the bill! My interest in this unassuming sextet from Ohio has slowly grown to the point where they are becoming my second favourite band. And that's up against some stiff competition. I haven't gotten around to buying their first two albums yet, or seen them live, but i will.

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure, here is their full set from the main stage at Glastonbury 2017. Enjoy.