Using a 1963 Fender Jaguar,
Bryce Dessner adds some
punk angst to the National’s
multi-instrumental mélange.
Photo by Keith Klenowski |
Just as important to the National’s complex, deceptively simple
sound are drummer Bryan Devendorf ’s propulsive rhythms—which
he augments with subtle mallet taps and clever use of various handheld
percussion instruments—Scott Devendorf ’s nimble bass work,
and Berninger’s baritone. But that’s just half the equation: While
said vocals are delivered in a manner that’s melancholy as often as
it’s nonchalant, the lyrics—which are written with the occasional
input of Berninger’s wife, Carin Besser, a former fiction editor
at
The New Yorker Magazine—are unfailingly wry and obtuse.
Lines like “I was afraid / I’d eat your brains / ’cause I am evil”
(“Conversation 16”) and “I defend my family / with my orange
umbrella / I’m afraid of everyone” (“Afraid of Everyone”) are as
likely to make you smile or rewind and say, “Did he just say what I
think he said?” as they are to make you choke up a little.
Then there are the lush and imaginative orchestrations that Bryce
writes, sometimes with the assistance of former Yale associates and
composers/instrumentalists Padma Newsome (with whom he also
plays in the adventurous chamber ensemble Clogs) and Nico Muhly.
The gentle trio of French horn, trombone, and cello on “Runaway,”
and the rumbling bass clarinet on “Conversation 16” are examples
of the instrumental flourishes that add such uncommon depth and
detail to the music. “My arrangements tend to be very supportive
and kind of interior,” says Bryce. “There’s something about Matt’s
voice . . . orchestration can help glue it to the music, while bringing
out overtones that you might not normally hear.”
In their finished states, the songs on
High Violet are at once raw
and refined, and they wend their way into your mind on multiple
levels. Since the music is so straightforward and diatonic, it’s accessible
to a wide audience of casual listeners unaware of some of the
sophisticated devices at work. At the same time, a conservatory geek
can admire the appropriation of contemporary classical sounds and
techniques, as well as the depth of the band’s musicality. In other
words, as it turns out, Aaron and Bryce Dessner may just be the
thinking man’s guitar heroes.
The National’s Gearbox
Guitars
Assorted 6- and 12-string semi-hollowbodies by Reuben
Cox, 1979 Epiphone Sheraton, 1963 Fender Jaguar, 1977
Fender Telecaster, 1970 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe, early ’70s
Gibson SG, two 1958 Silvertone semi-hollowbodies, 1965
Guild M-20, 1996 Jeremy Locke classical, 1991 Greg
Smallman classical, 1969 and 1973 Fender Precision basses,
1972 Fender Telecaster bass
Amps
Fender Bassman, blackface Fender Super Reverb,
1970s Fender Twin Reverb, Fender ’65 Twin Reverb reissue,
Penn Pennalizer 3x10 and 4x10 combos
Effects
Boss DD-5 Digital Delay, Boss TR-2 Tremolo,
Crowther Hot Cake, Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb,
Electro-Harmonix POG Polyphonic Octave Generator,
Ibanez Tube Screamer, Klon Centaur, Line 6 DL4
Delay Modeler, Pro Co RAT, Heet Sound EBow
Strings and Picks
D’Addario EXL115 sets for most electrics,
D’Addario EXL140 sets for the Fender Jaguar,
D’Addario EJ40 Silk & Steel (acoustics),
Dunlop .75 mm Tortex (Aaron),
Dunlop .88 mm Tortex (Bryce)
Left: Aaron Dessner’s 1979 Epiphone
Sheraton has a trapeze tailpiece
with drastically different string
lengths for the top and bottom
three strings. He often picks
behind the bridge for
other-worldly sounds.
Photo by Keith Klenowski
Right: Bryce Dessner’s naturally
relic’d 1963 Fender Jaguar.
Photo by Keith Klenowski