Earlier this year the National played its song “Sorrow” for six hours at the Museum of Modern Art. Last week they did just the opposite for NPR’s “Tiny Desk Concert” series. Led by deep-throated singer Matt Berninger, the band ran through a number of songs from new album Trouble Will Find Me: “This Is the Last Time,” “I Need My Girl,” “Pink Rabbits,” and “Sea of Love.” All six guys managed to cram into a small space in the NPR office along with a number of horn instruments and a harmonica. The intimate setting recalled the cycle of shows the band played in New York before Trouble Will Find Me‘s release, which SPIN chronicled last week. And even though their music pares down well in a small, acoustic atmosphere, the National are a major attraction — a phenomenon that SPIN’s David Bevan grappled with in his profile, The National: Not Your Dad’s Dad-Rock.
Watch the National’s Comfortably Claustrophobic ‘Tiny Desk’ Concert
