Indie rock band The National have announced that they’re in a “gardening phase” of creating new music and are “in a very creative space.” Although they’ve released two albums in 2023 – ‘The First Two Pages Of Frankenstein’ and ‘Laugh Track’ – they’ve hinted that there’s plenty more to come. While talking to NME at Glastonbury, bassist Scott Devendorf said that their setlists have been mixed up a lot. Matt Berninger added that he’s been writing more music but they’re going to take it slow and let it grow.
Berninger also touched upon an upcoming collaboration with Taylor Swift and how they’ve had an influx of Swifties attending their shows. The band has worked with Swift on two previous songs, and Berninger, as well as Aaron Daggers, expressed their admiration for the experience. On the subject of joining Swift on her “Eras” tour, Berninger explained, “We get asked that a lot. We see a lot of Taylor Swift fans coming to shows and being bewildered by the first 25 minutes or so. We’ve been blessed with demographics that are across the spectrum. Then 10 or 15 years ago, a lot of younger people started coming – more and more women. The first 10 years was kind of a dude-fest at most of our shows, but that’s changed a lot. At our shows we have all kinds of old friends and they’re always different.”
The National’s guitarist, Aaron Dessner, has worked with the pop singer-songwriter for several years now. They collaborated for the first time on her 2020 album, ‘Folklore’, then again on ‘Evermore’ and the lesser-known ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’ In addition to their shared fanbase, the partnership has resulted in fruitful songwriting opportunities for both artists.
The National’s upcoming UK tour dates include a performance at Crystal Palace Park, among others. They’ve urged fans to buy tickets and join them as they explore new musical terrain and open doors to unexpected artistic collaborations
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