The National. Five men from Cincinnati, Ohio who formed the band in Brooklyn in 1999. Two sets of brothers, twins Aaron and Bryce Dessner on guitars and keys and Scott and Bryan Devendorf on bass and drums, plus Matt Berninger's baritone out front. They built one of the great slow-burn careers in American rock through Alligator (2005), Boxer (2007) and High Violet (2010), and won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album for Sleep Well Beast. I Am Easy to Find (4AD, 2019) is their most generous record. Berninger repeatedly hands the microphone to women: Lisa Hannigan, Sharon Van Etten, Mina Tindle, Gail Ann Dorsey, Kate Stables and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, with 'Light Years' closing the standard album. It was made alongside a Mike Mills short film starring Alicia Vikander. Their tenth album, Laugh Track, followed in 2023.
From the notes for EKHO Sonic Chill #8 · fact-checked Oct 4, 2026.
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