The National, O2 Arena

Gloomy American quintet The National have finally cemented their place as one of the best indie rock bands. 2014 sees them bring the Trouble Will Find Me tour to London

If you need a perfect soundtrack to the gloomy winter months then look no further than the O2, where somber American indie rockers The National are playing this November.

The band have been touring their 2013 album Trouble Will Find Me worldwide, and this London gig marks the end of that run of concerts.

Darlings of the indie music press for years, The National have finally begun to find the commercial audience to match their standing in the rock word, with their most recent album peaking at number 3 in both the UK and US charts.  

The National London 2014

At one time it was almost unthinkable that the former cult band would be able to command the bill at arenas like the O2- yet their arena-ready sound is tailor-made for the stadium. Thunderous drums propel intense but understated guitar; songs are given magisterial weight by brass flourishes or portentous piano. At the centre of it all frontman Matt Berninger’s wry and intelligent lyrics survey the neuroses and weaknesses of the soul. Somehow, the band forge singalong rock anthems out of self-doubt and human fragility. “I have only two emotions, careful fear and dead devotion” Berninger delivers in typically downbeat fashion on Don’t Swallow The Cap.

Formed in 1999, The National’s road to international recognition was as slow burning as their songs; while each new record brought a larger audience, it was not until 2010 and their album High Violet that the Ohio quintet really became a breakout success.

Best International Breakthrough Act 2011 nominees

High Violet was The National's first album to break into the UK and US top ten charts, and earned the band a nomination for Best International Breakthrough Act 2011 at the BRIT Awards.

The National are known for the intensity of their live shows, with the lyrical content of their songs communicated through the shambling emotional lightning rod of Berninger. Huddled up and brooding over the microphone as the music soars to a guitar-driven crescendo of controlled angst, he seems emotionally spent at the end of every performance

Although the recent concert film experiment Mistaken for Strangers shed a more human light on The National’s interminably introverted frontman, their live show at the O2 will doubtless please fans of the band’s fierce live performance.