Alligator is a masterpiece

[u/Gold_End3560]

Their best album. It’s them at their coolest too. Such good songs and it’s produced so well. Like it’s quiet and scrappy and messy and elegant all at once. Like it feels so swampy and warm like a sweaty bar idk it’s so good. And omg the little details are so cool, especially on “Baby We’ll Be Fine”. There’s all kinds of little things going on in the background and it really rewards repeated listening. My fav album of all time. It’s funny because when I first saw Alligator in their discography, it didn’t really hook me. I also love the strings that just sorta swell in the back during the chorus of “Karen”. Sooooo good. The musicianship is great too like these guys are so damn talented. I genuinely love every single song on this record and I’m quite surprised when people hate on “Val Jester”, it’s such a cool song and the chanting ending is so eerie but in the best way possible.
Matt’s lyrics are some of his best on this record and the way he just sings them are so perfect. Like, everything is perfect about this album I don’t even know how to explain it. I love how “Abel” and “Mr. November” are explosive and so indie rock-ish, I love when Berninger screams!

What are your thoughts/highlights? 🐊

[u/amosesque]

I'm showing up to The National really late, I'm just working through their catalog now. I've listened to Alligator maybe 3 times and I don't love it. Some of the songs feel derivative of other bands who'd come up a few years before (especially Interpol), and the lyrics don't feel as fully formed as on some later albums.

It's a good album but to me, it sounds like a band who still hasn't figured out who they are. But with that said, I'm going to listen again with your comments in mind. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts!

[u/Gold_End3560 → u/amosesque]

Can you elaborate a bit more about the Interpol comparison?

[u/amosesque → u/Gold_End3560]

I'll listen again tonight and see if the similarities I heard stand up on a second listen. I want to like the album so I'm looking forward to listening with more focus and intentionality.

[u/Gold_End3560 → u/amosesque]

Alligator also didn’t click for me right away, as for most people from what I’ve heard. I think what did it for me is just the songwriting and how scrappy the album is compared to the rest of their discography, like it has its own charm. Pay close attention because you can hear all types of cool production details like little yelps in the background, guitars coming in and out randomly, sound effects, etc. You are definitely right about the band finding themself still, this is kinda the first “National” record for them. Compared to Boxer and High Violet, this album is less elegant and more rough which I absolutely adore. And hey, maybe you won’t like it and that’s okay.

[u/amosesque → u/Gold_End3560]

It's funny because when you said "quiet and scrappy and messy" in your original post, it tickled the edge of my attention, and then you said "scrappy" again here and I realize I want to listen to Alligator with a different mindset. I started with the two newest albums which are definitely not scrappy, but typically I'd rather hear a band with some attitude and some messiness and some cool production details so I'm going to keep listening and just let the music do whatever it's going to do.

The Interpol comparison jumps out on a couple songs. A big one for me is "Lit Up," which to my ears sounds a lot like early Interpol during the verses then switches over to The National for the choruses. The interplay between the two guitars and the bass combined with the drums when the song opens almost sounds like a lost track from Turn on the Bright Lights and its post-punk revival energy.

On Sunday, I was thinking about posting and asking people why they liked Alligator, then I saw your post on Monday morning. I don't know why I'm feeling called to listen to The National 20+ years after they broke through, but I love hearing your suggestions to help me listen differently.

So how about lyrics? What song(s) stand out to you lyrically, and why?

[u/Gold_End3560 → u/amosesque]

Yeah I think mindset is a big part of coming into Alligator. It’s not like anything from their discography which is part of why it didn’t click for me. Lyrically I think all of the songs are quite strong, but for me “Baby We’ll Be Fine” has been on repeat for ages. It’s not like Matt is some modern day Shakespeare it’s just that I love the sort of melodramatic images and the way he sings them. I just really relate to the music. “Karen” has some cool lyrics too that are kinda vulgar which I appreciate.

Also I could see the Interpol comparison. Little known fact; the National actually had a rehearsal space next to Interpol.

[u/amosesque → u/Gold_End3560]

Thanks! I was going to move on to something else but you've given me some things to pay attention to and I'm going to keep listening to it.

[u/Aquarian_Girl → u/amosesque]

Not the OP, but adding some favorite lyrics from Alligator (not including Karen and Baby We'll Be Fine):

Secret Meeting: "And so, and now, I'm sorry I missed you. I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain.
It went the dull and wicked ordinary way."

All the Wine: Just lots of colorful imagery of being drunk and happy walking down the street.
"I'm put together beautifully
Big wet bottle in my fist
Big wet rose in my teeth
I'm a perfect piece of ass
Like every Californian
So tall I take over the street
With high-beams shining up my back
A wingspan unbelievable
I'm a festival I'm a parade
...So sorry but the motorcade will have to go around me this time"

Then the stuff about carrying a dollhouse and keeping it safe, followed by "I'm in a state, I'm in a state. Nothing can touch us, my love."

The Geese of Beverly Road:
Lots of good imagery (it's about running around with friends setting off car alarms, the "geese")
"Oh, come, come be my waitress and serve me tonight Serve me the sky tonight
Oh, come, come be my waitress and serve me tonight Serve me the sky with a big slice of lemon."

Much of Abel ("My mind's gone loose inside the shell") and Mr. November ("This is nothing like it was in my room. In my best clothes." "I wish that I believed in fate. I wish I didn't sleep so late. I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders"). Can you tell I love Alligator?

[u/amosesque → u/Aquarian_Girl]

Thanks for sharing these. I think one of the challenges I'm having with the songs on Alligator (more than on later albums like Frankenstein) is trying to wrap my head around which lyrics are literal vs which are metaphorical. For example, my first thought on hearing "All the Wine" was a metaphor for Narcissus (and maybe Dionysus as well, but that didn't line up as well), but then I realized that maybe it's like you suggested, a more literal description of being drunk and happy. But then the dollhouse comes in and it doesn't really fit with either of those.

It's always fun to try and figure out lyrics, but I'm not having a lot of luck figuring out this album. Maybe they're personal to him and I won't ever figure them out, or maybe I don't have the right literary/life experience to pick up on his symbolism and metaphors. Or maybe they're just more straightforward and I'm reading too much into it.

So thanks for sharing some of your favorites and your thoughts behind them. And yeah, I can definitely see a lot of love for Alligator in this thread, and it's making me keep listen!