Sorry for the delay In TOTW recently. Although in the current circumstances I’ve had more time available the hours have been taken up with some bigger projects that you’ll all find out about soon and my track of the week recommendations have slipped slightly.

Bloodbuzz Ohio was easily my most listened to track last week. My girlfriend has been listening to a lot of their back catalog and has taken a shining to this track especially so its been on strong rotation at home. It is the opening single to my favorite album of theirs; “High Violet.”

Bloodbuzz Ohio’s success rests in the counterpoint between the high energy of the instrumentation and the downplayed baritone vocals. This energy continues to escalate throughout the track as it builds to the chorus, where its chord changes cause the track to plateau and resonate between two conflicting moods.

Its one of several styles and techniques that The National are exceptionally talented at and have utilized several times in their catalog. However, for me Bloodbuzz Ohio is the first time that they mastered this technique creating a song that still resonates with me to this day:

Youtube:

TOTW Playlist:

I’ve been listening to The National a lot this week and forgot just how much I loved their music and its overall high quality. My favorite album “High Violet” never puts a foot wrong throughout its entire playtime.

“Runaway” comes towards the end of the album and slows down its pace both in tempo and production by stripping down the percussion to its bare elements. It then extenuates the emotion in the lyrics with use of strings and brass orchestration that swell in and out of the piece. A great track on a now classic album that’s well worth your time:

Spotify:

TOTW Playlist: