Just a few months after they dropped their most recent album First Two Pages of Frankenstein, The National are back with two new singles called “Space Invader” and “Alphabet City.”
It’s unclear whether or not these tracks are Frankenstein outtakes, but their atmospheric production and melodramatic instrumentation feel right in line with the album’s ethos. “Space Invader” clocks in at just under seven minutes, giving Matt Berninger plenty of time to pore over endless “what if”s: “What if we’d never met?/ What if I’d only just done what you told me?” he wonders over thunderous drums, before the song swells into a rollicking coda.
Meanwhile, “Alphabet City” is a mellower, piano-driven breakup track where Berninger’s narrator gets nostalgic about a lost love and wandering the titular Manhattan neighborhood: “I’m not over it, don’t know what it is/ I can’t get there/ Something’s wrong with me like it always is/ I can’t get there.” Stream both new songs below.
The National have a handful of tour dates left for 2023, including their Homecoming Festival in Cincinnati this September; grab tickets via StubHub, where your order is 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s FanProtect program.
