A windfall of ‘Sad Dad’ music from The National

In September, The National thrilled their fans by releasing a brand new album, Laugh Track. In reality, the album is a companion to the band’s previous one, First Two Pages of Frankenstein, and the songs on both were written around the same time. That’s probably why The National’s music, despite their large swathe of fans amongst young women, is often referred to as “Sad Dad” music, adoringly but also with a hint of a jibe. The National’s formula of brooding songs dealing with very personal feelings about love, loss, breakups, general angst, and often depression, has not changed much since their early days. Laugh Track, many of whose songs were germinated during the same time as those on the previous album, is a more wholehearted return to The National’s “Sad Dad” metier.