The National brings an abundance of energy for a brooding, middle-aged indie rock band, as evidenced on their new live album, “Rome.”
The 21-track, two-LP album — recorded in concert at the Parco della Musica auditorium in Italy's capital in June — is a fan-friendly sing-along that strings together some of the best sounds of their 25-year career.
Eight of the band’s 10 studio albums are represented in “Rome,” releasing Friday from this Ohio-born and New York-based quintet fronted by the gravel-voiced Matt Berninger and fueled by two sets of brothers: Aaron and Bryce Dessner and Bryan and Scott Devendorf.
The opener, “Runaway,” is one of a handful of deeper cuts, this one from the lyrically dreary yet melodically uplifting 2010 album “High Violet." The drumming brilliance of Bryan Devendorf shines throughout another “High Violet” cut, “Bloodbuzz Ohio” and spreads into “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness,” the heart of their 2017 album, “Sleep Well Beast.”
The self-described “sad dads,” a self-deprecating nickname that shows up on some of their own merchandise, are rocking as hard as ever on this record.
Berninger, as he described during an interview last year with David Letterman, battled depression during the pandemic. “First Two Pages of Frankenstein,” one of two albums released last year in what became a revitalization for Berninger and his bandmates, has a significant presence on “Rome.”
An example: The angst in “Eucalyptus” over the impending breakup of a close relationship is palpable, but the genius of Berninger's lyrics performed live lies in a mood-lightening list of household items — from bottled water to a ceiling fan. “What about the ornaments?” he sings. “What if I reinvented again? What about the moon drop light?”
Berninger's baritone becomes scratchier by the song, as much a feature of a National performance as it is a bug. And for that reason, “Rome” is not the place to make a diehard fan out of a newbie listener. Berninger rarely holds back during a show, and 2023's “Smoke Detector” is one of those songs that devolves into a cacophonic mess of top-of-the-lungs screaming.
The encore features a live-show staple, 2010's “Terrible Love,” during which Berninger typically delights the crowd by trying to body surf as staff frantically try to feed him enough slack on the microphone cord to make the stunt work.
On the closer, “High Violet” cut “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks,” Berninger lets the crowd take the first verse. As the horns from Benjamin Lanz and Kyle Resnick — frequent tour guests from the band Beirut — punctuate the breaks, the feel-good melody that belies every anxiety-ridden verse resonates to the end.
Dave Campbell, The Associated Press