Boxer is a point of no return for The National. With three albums under their belt, including the critical darling Alligator, the band were starting to get the buzz that they deserved. The three albums that came before: the self-titled debut, the underrated Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers, and the aforementioned Alligator, had the band building their sound slowly. The pieces where there, the compositions from the Dessner brothers where intimate, and intricate, boasting one of the tightest rhythm sections in music with the Devendorf brothers, and Matt Berninger grumbling delivery were all present. Like R.E.M in the IRS years The National have released album after album that has improved their craft and brought more fame and respect.
Boxer may not be as impressive as Trouble Will Find Me but apart from that album it has the bands best collection of songs. Starting with the majestic Fake Empire, a song that was incredibly poignant in the America of George W Bush, to the ragged neurotic Interpol riff of Mistaken for Strangers about a man who has become so isolated that his friends don't recognise him in the street. Then there's Brainy, a song in which all the power comes from the beautifully chiming guitar and Berninger’s ability to make singing "MMMMMmmm" sound like everything.
It's the albums centrepiece that brings it into classic territory. Slow Show, Apartment Story, and Start a War, are the soundtrack to the indie film of the mind. They're songs of heartbreak, isolation, and feeling adrift from yourself: a mood that Berninger can create with ease. Boxer is, ten years on, still one of The National's greatest achievements, I may be biased of course since this was the album that I discovered the band through. Without it though I wouldn't have this effortlessly compelling band to help me make sense of things, the way great music is supposed to do.
