User Score
Universal acclaim- based on 303 Ratings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 275 out of 303
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Mixed: 13 out of 303
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Negative: 15 out of 303
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Oct 6, 2022
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Sep 25, 2021This album is so touching and dramatic and so beautifully put together. It mixes in dark stories with grand moments and doesn’t get dull at all.
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Jun 17, 2017
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May 28, 2017They just keep on putting out music with an extravagant and incredible quality.
What more can be said, beautiful from head to toe. You get submerged in every song, deeply and it's fabulous. -
Jun 25, 2013A very good album. Not incredible, but very good. Picked it up on vinyl and I've listened to the digital versions and I would reccomend splurging for the vinyl. The vocals become much more haunting like that. This album has a lot of ups and very few downs, but fails to really tell a story.
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Apr 23, 2012
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Jan 26, 2012This album is flawless. Every track plays like a dark hymn for a frightened generation of lovesick vagabonds. The National are one of the best groups around, and this is their best album in my opinion.
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Jan 26, 2012A solid output from The National. In some ways it's more consistent than it's predecessor (The Boxer) mainly in it's sound which is a bit lighter. However I miss the atmosphere of dark, almost bleak atmosphere of Boxer.
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Oct 25, 2011Enjoyed this much more than I did "Boxer", but unlike other National albums i found this album to be more immediate than its predecessors which were growers.
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Jul 25, 2011A quantum leap from Boxer and Alligator, and the best record of 2010 -- a year with a lot of great records. It's hard for me to understand the reviews trashing this but touting Boxer. Boxer was a nice record, but this is miles ahead of it. Check out the 4 new songs on the "expanded edition." Wake Up Your Saints and You Were a Kindness, in particular, are both brilliant.
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Jul 10, 2011Beautiful, very evocative of something sour and bitter without ever getting dull.
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May 21, 2011
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Apr 21, 2011Matt Berninger's delightfully melancholy voice goes perfectly with the moody and gorgeous songs on this album. Although it seems to lack the cohesive force that "Boxer" had, the album is exceptional when each song is taken into consideration. The sounds are apocalyptic, gloomy, and creative. An exceptional work from an exceptional band.
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Mar 18, 2011High Violet is one of a kind. Matt Berninger sings all of his emotions. He feels sorrow, he feels pain, he felt heartbroken. His vocals are amazing. The lyrics are really well and the musicianship is fantastic. The drumming is another thing. Some of the best drumming I've heard in awhile. All In All, The National are definitely a band to be reckoned with. A-
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Feb 20, 2011A wonderful little album that mixes alt-country, indie-rock, even a bit of atmosphere for an interesting mix of music. I don't think I could describe this music to a friend, except to say it's like a Midwestern version of Arcade Fire, but perhaps instead I would just say it's fantastic, worth a listen for anyone that enjoys indie rock.
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Feb 1, 2011Inspiring song consistency, and filled with great emotion...all through the use of hushed vocals and instrumentation. The content is so dense it took me a few listens to gain a full appreciation of the work put into this brilliant album.
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Jan 11, 2011respect for the national, its even better than Boxer. the music is so calm and understanding, one of the best albums of 2010, cant wait for their next album
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Dec 29, 2010
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Nov 29, 2010album of the year - no one even came close. sure it's sad, but it's funny too. matt berninger's lyrics just keep getting better. this album may take some getting used to and isn't appropriate for party situations, BUT for anyone who understands that this life is bittersweet (fans of "no country for old men" as an example) "high violet" is essential.
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Nov 21, 2010I downloaded this album back in june, and promptly put it on my ipod. Until about a week ago i had completely forgotten about it, and had never listened to it all. So about a week ago, i was at work listening to my ipod on shuffle, and the song "little faith" came on. I didnt even know who i was listening to, but i loved it! Since then i've been listening to this album non-stop.
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Nov 12, 2010
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Nov 5, 2010
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Oct 21, 2010This album is the most charming of those in The National's discography. The poetry is strong, speaking to the awkward middle-aged socialite in all of us. Though the formula they follow can sometimes have uninteresting results, High Violet does its best to keep us listening by reminding us of just how imperfect we are.
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Oct 20, 2010Hands down the best album of the year! Hauntingly beautiful. It transcends most rock albums of our day. For those that call it overrated,flat ,mumblecore (nonsense) or whatever. Please shake your head, put on the headphones, crank it up and hit repeat.
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Oct 16, 2010Certainly not as strong as Boxer or Alligator, but not necessarily more mainstream either. The album only really gets going halfway in after Bloodbuzz Ohio, with a series of fairly obvious and undistinguished melodically songs. Admittedly Bloodbuzz Ohio is a great single, and what follows it is more immediate, but its not enough to make me rate the album higher than this.
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Oct 10, 2010
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Sep 30, 2010To call this album haunting seems to be an understatement - this album gets better, and darker, with each listen. The best new album I've heard in a while..
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Sep 20, 2010The National just keep getting better and better. They haven't put a foot wrong in the whole album. Every song is just perfect. A must listen for everyone.
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Sep 7, 2010
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Aug 11, 2010
Awards & Rankings
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Dec 20, 2010The National's latest is easily up there with the very best indie-rock records of the year.
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Its charms are subtle, its grip soft and easily shrugged by those who choose to pay it only passing attention. Live with it a while, though, and High Violet rewards patience with songs that colour one's waking existence, becoming vivid night-time narratives when curtains are drawn.
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An easy grandeur is present throughout, as is a sense they are following an increasingly individual, carefully textured path. It is a wild, vivid romance that The National make their own, and on High Violet it sounds just as striking, just as wild, just as vivid as ever.