High Violet
by The National
  • Record Label: 4AD
  • Release Date: May 11, 2010
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 303 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 275 out of 303
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 303
  3. Negative: 15 out of 303

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  1. longtimereader
    May 17, 2010
    6
    This album is just OK. I know that the National makes growers (Alligator is a favorite of mine), but this one just comes off as too mopey. It seems like these guys are giving up on interesting melodies and giving into berringer and the drummer- i want a more balanced effort.
  2. IanP
    May 19, 2010
    4
    hands down the most overrated band around right now. these songs are flat. the only complexity is the atmospheric production, otherwise you could pretty much call this 'mumblecore the band'.
  3. Calexican
    Sep 1, 2010
    4
    It is incredibly dull. I bought it without thinking - partly based on the hype and partly based on some nostalgic memory of what a great song Fake Empire was and is. Unfortunately nothing here gets close and their performance at Glastonbury just confirmed that they have had their 15 minutes already.
  4. MBond1810
    Apr 12, 2013
    6
    Not as good as 'Boxer': this one is more various, but the melodies are too predictable...

Awards & Rankings

23
#23 Best Album of 2010
19
#19 Most Discussed Album of 2010
18
#18 Most Shared Album of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Universal acclaim - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. No Ripcord
    Dec 20, 2010
    90
    The National's latest is easily up there with the very best indie-rock records of the year.
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  2. BBC Music
    90
    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.
    Read full review
  3. Drowned In Sound
    90
    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.
    Read full review
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