The National

The National emerged from Cincinnati in 1999, coalescing around the Dessner brothers (Aaron and Bryce) and Matt Berninger's baritone murmur, a voice that sounds perpetually on the edge of confession or collapse. Their early albums The National (2001) and Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers (2003) established their template: elegantly despondent rock built on intricate guitar interplay and Berninger's literate examinations of suburban ennui and masculine anxiety.

Boxer (2007) and High Violet (2010) secured their reputation as architects of a particular 21st-century melancholy, blending post-punk rhythms with orchestral textures. Critics identified their sound as the musical equivalent of upscale despair, capturing the zeitgeist of educated, aging millennials confronting professional success without emotional satisfaction. The band's meticulous arrangements, often featuring Bryan Devendorf's propulsive drumming against layered guitars, create tension between control and dissolution.

Trouble Will Find Me (2013) reached number three on the Billboard 200, confirming their ascent from indie darlings to festival headliners. Their influence permeates contemporary alternative rock, proving that introspection and ambition need not conflict.