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Mar 22, 2023 By Mark Redfern Photography by Josh Goleman

The National are releasing a new album, First Two Pages of Frankenstein, on April 28 via 4AD. Now they have shared its third single, “Eucalyptus,” via a music video. Chris Sgroi directed the video. Watch it below, followed by the band’s upcoming tour dates.

Bryce Dessner sent the music for “Eucalyptus” to frontman Matt Berninger a while back and had forgotten about it. Much later Berninger wrote lyrics for the song and they worked on during a soundcheck at a show at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester (an hour or so north of New York City).

“We rehearsed it twice without ever having had a demo and played it to the audience that night, and what you hear on the album was partially recorded during that performance,” says Bryce Dessner in a press release. “It’s got this raw, immediate feeling, and it made sense to leave the rough edges instead of trying to perfect them.”

Berninger had this to say about the song’s lyrics: “Throughout the record there’s a lot of looking into the abyss and wondering if a relationship has run its course. ‘Eucalyptus’ is about a couple splitting up their possessions after a breakup—like, ‘What are we going to do with the spring water we get delivered, what’s going to happen to all these plants?’ It’s about all those little things you end up having to think about when you’ve become so connected to someone.”

First Two Pages of Frankenstein features Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers, and Sufjans Stevens. Previously the band shared First Two Pages of Frankenstein’s first single, “Tropic Morning News,” which was one of our Songs of the Week. Then The National shared the album’s second single, “New Order T-Shirt,” and also started selling a joint National/New Order T-shirt. “New Order T-Shirt” also made our Songs of the Week list.

The National’s previous album, I Am Easy to Find, came out in 2019 via 4AD. Last year the band shared a new single, “Weird Goodbyes,” which was a collaboration with Bon Iver (the project led by Justin Vernon) but is not featured on the new album.

In a previous press release, lead singer Matt Berninger said that after I Am Easy to Find he found himself in “a very dark spot where I couldn’t come up with lyrics or melodies at all. Even though we’d always been anxious whenever we were working on a record, this was the first time it ever felt like maybe things really had come to an end.”

The National’s guitarist/pianist Bryce Dessner said that the band “managed to come back together and approach everything from a different angle, and because of that we arrived at what feels like a new era for the band.”

The band also features Bryce’s brother Aaron Dessner (guitar/piano/bass), as well as brothers Scott Devendorf (bass, guitar) and Bryan Devendorf (drums).

Summing up First Two Pages of Frankenstein as a whole, Aaron Dessner said: “To me the power of this record has to do with the intentionality and structure of the music meeting with a lot of accidental magic.”

Read our 2018 interview with The National.

Read our 2017 interview with The National on Sleep Well Beast.

The National Tour Dates:

May 18 – Chicago, IL – Auditorium Theatre *
May 19 – Chicago, IL – Auditorium Theatre * SOLD OUT
May 20 – Chicago, IL – Auditorium Theatre * SOLD OUT
May 21 – Chicago, IL – Auditorium Theatre * SOLD OUT
May 23 – Washington, DC – The Anthem *
May 24 – Washington, DC – The Anthem * SOLD OUT
May 26 – Boston, MA – Boston Calling Festival
May 28 – Napa, CA – Bottlerock Festival
May 30 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre * SOLD OUT
May 31 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre *
June 2 – Troutdale, OR – McMenamins Edgefield *
June 3 – Troutdale, OR – McMenamins Edgefield *
June 4 – Redmond, WA – Marymoor Park * SOLD OUT
June 5 – Burnaby, BC, Canada – Festival Lawn at Deer Lake Park *
August 1 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia ~ SOLD OUT
August 2 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia ~
August 3 – New Haven, CT – Westville Music Bowl ~
August 5 – Montreal, PQ – Osheaga Festival
August 7 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit ~ SOLD OUT
August 8 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee ~ SOLD OUT
August 9 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory ~
August 11 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom ~ SOLD OUT
August 12 – Denver, CO - Mission Ballroom ~
August 15 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater ~
August 16 – Atlanta, GA – Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park ~
August 18 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden with very special guest Patti Smith and her band
August 20 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage with very special guest Patti Smith and her band and U.S. Girls
September 21 – Dublin, IRE – 3 Arena *
September 23 – Leeds, UK – First Direct Arena *
September 24 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro Arena *
September 26 – London, UK – Alexandra Palace * SOLD OUT
September 27 – London, UK – Alexandra Palace *
September 29 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome ^ SOLD OUT
September 30 – Berlin, DE – Max-Schmeling-Halle ^
October 1 – Munich, DE – Zenith ^
October 4 – Madrid, ES – WiZink Center ^
October 5 – Porto, PT – Super Bock Arena ^
October 6 – Lisbon, PT – Campo Pequeno ^

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