The National premiered what appears to be a brand new song called “Light Years” Sunday during the second night of their Cincinnati-based Homecoming Festival. The tune begins with Matt Berninger wistfully rasping against a florid piano accompaniment, with a subtle backbeat and sighs of slide guitar creeping in gradually. The band recently released a live album of Boxer on Record Store Day. They have also written a musical based on Cyrano de Bergerac, which is set to premiere later this summer. We’ll have to listen more closely to “Light Years”‘ lyrics to see if this one could slot easily into the narrative of that iconic, long-nosed musician-poet. Watch the band debut “Light Years” below
