Hear the National’s Evocative New Ballad ‘Carin at the Liquor Store’
The National unveiled an arresting new video for “Carin at the Liquor Store,” an evocative ballad from their upcoming album, Sleep Well Beast, out September 8th.
Casey Reas directed the clip, capturing the band with a negative film filter as they performed the song. The video’s palate of bright whites and cool blues fits the melancholy stomp of “Carin at the Liquor Store” with its steady drums, rumbling piano, undercurrent of synths and a gauzy guitar that rises up at the end for an aching solo. Singer Matt Berninger unspools vivid lyrics in his delicate baritone, singing, “Carin at the liquor store, I can’t wait to see you/ I’m walking around like I was the one who found dead John Cheever/ In the house of love.”
“Carin at the Liquor Store” follows previously released Sleep Well Beast offerings “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness” and “Guilty Party.” Sleep Well Beast marks the National‘s first album since 2013’s Trouble Will Find Me. The group recorded the LP primarily at guitarist Aaron Dessner’s studio, Long Pond, in Hudson Valley, New York, while additional sessions took place in Berlin, Paris and Los Angeles.
The National will embark on a North American tour in support of Sleep Well Beast October 5th at the Wang Theatre in Boston.