10 Perfect Alternative Rock Albums With No Bad Songs

The National have made their name making distinctly reserved, but effortlessly cool music. If you are a fan of the albums, Alligator and The Boxer, then this is the logical next step. They didn't stray far from what they were doing on those record, but then again you wouldn't want them to.

That's not to say High Violet feels derivative of their previous work, rather they built on the sound that attracted an audience. Once again, they delivered an album made for late night car journeys; a time for reflective contemplation and moody musings.

For all that, the album isn't depressive: even the tracks, Terrible Love and Sorrow contain instrumental melodies that are laced with a sense of quietly confident optimism. Tracks like Bloodbuzz Ohio, demonstrate Berninger as one of the more effective singers of his generation. Although the backing music might lend itself to a more dominant vocal delivery, Berniger keeps everything reined in. His rumbling baritone voice, peppers the textured instrumentals with a rich confidence.

This isn't an album you're going to get up and dance to, and you're not going head bang if you hear it live, but you might tap into a universal sense, that things always work out.