No one seems to know how to describe breakout indie rockers The National, whose ambitious yet ultimately somber sound gets them lumped in with everyone from Nick Cave to U2.
“Hey, I don’t even know how to describe us,” says frontman Matt Berninger. “I call us moody rock ‘n’ roll. That’s the closest thing I can give you. To be honest, we’ve been called everything from goth-rock to Americana to sad-core.”
Earlier this year, The National did a brief stint opening for the Arcade Fire. Now the Brooklyn quintet is on an ambitious headlining tour in support of their latest album, “Boxer.” From Washington, D.C., Berninger talked to us about his Midwestern heritage, a misunderstood baseball-themed political rant and hanging with alligators.
There’s something on your Web site called “Gator Around with The National.” What is that?
Oh, god, it’s so stupid. We were in Florida a year and a half ago, went to Okefenokee Swamp and just filmed among the alligators.
Hanging with alligators, huh? So what’s a night like on a National tour bus?
Lately, it’s mellow. I’ve been right to my bunk and sleeping a lot. It’s not Motley Crue. We’re all quiet, respectful of space, and we keep the bus clean. We’re not doing lines of coke or anything, that’s for sure.
The band’s doing extraordinarily well … playing in large halls, touring with Arcade Fire. Yet 99 percent of casual music fans would have a hard time identifying you.
The mainstream has changed. There seem to be a lot more bands like us — we do very well without depending on radio, MTV or any sort of mainstream outlet. The Internet and word-of-mouth is really helping us. But we’re still underground too. Of course, we’d be happy with more mainstream success, but we don’t need it.
You grew up in the Midwest. How did that shape your music?
For my perspective, growing up in Ohio, I thought New York was this mystical Gotham. I had a very romantic connection to it from films, and even though I live there, I still feel the same way. Our music is essentially my fascination with the urban life and how surreal it can be.
Your lyrics are very fragmented, and you admit that. But on your first album, “Alligator,” there was a song called “Mr. November” that seemed to have some specific points you wanted to make.
It’s about a few things that were consciously on my mind. It is about politics — it was written during the 2004 presidential campaign, with, um, Jim Carrey …
You mean John Kerry?
Oh, so that’s why he lost! Yeah, John Kerry. And the song is a reference to Reggie Jackson, who was called “Mr. October.” And the song itself is about us just finishing the record. So, yes, it’s about all of those things. That’s the case with a lot of the songs. They’re just about different things on my mind.
The National
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Vic Theatre, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave.
Tickets: Sold out
————
METROMIX@TRIBUNE.COM
