National, The - Laugh Track 2LP (black vinyl)

If Frankenstein represented a rebuilding of trust between group members after 20+ years together, the vibrant, exploratory Laugh Track is both the product of that faith and a new statement of intent. Reveling in the license to radically upend it's creative process, The National honed most of this material in live performances on tour, and captured those invigorated versions in impromptu sessions at producer Tucker Martine's Portland studio. Two nights later in Vancouver, the nearly eight-minute album closer "Smoke Detector" was recorded during soundcheck, completing a body of work bristling with spontaneity and vintage rock energy that makes a perfect complement to the songs found on it's more introspective predecessor.

Tracklist:
- Side 1 -
1 Alphabet City
2 Deep End (Paul's in Pieces)
3 Weird Goodbyes (Feat. Bon Iver)
4 Turn Off the House
5 Dreaming
6 Laugh Track (Feat. Phoebe Bridgers)
- Side 2 -
1 Space Invader
2 Hornets
3 Coat on a Hook
4 Tour Manager
5 Crumble (Feat. Rosanne Cash)
6 Smoke Detector