The National

gotta say, it feels like this new album is going to be a regression rather than a progression

could imagine all of the songs heard thus far sitting as deep cuts on "sleep well beast" - not one really stands out to me much
 
I think this one will be similar to SWB but a bit subtler. I could see it being like a massage that feels a bit light to the touch but, 15 minutes in, you realize the masseuse just quietly unlocked that knot you’ve been trying to get fixed for years. The transition from Euc to New Order is so satisfying and the driving outro of the former turns that clean guitar intro of the latter into a nice, low-key change of pace. If this is sequenced well and the songs enhance each other like these two do, I can see a new more mature sibling for the A tier National records.
 
New single was pretty middle of the road to my ears. Liked the first couple more.
I really enjoyed it live, was at the show when Matt changed its title from Moon Drop Light to Eucalyptus.

I saw a handful of the songs from the new album in unfinished states last year. Saw them all performed live (except for the Tay Tay song) a few weeks ago in Woodstock. I LOVE both Tropic Morning News & New Order T-Shirt. I like this song, it's ok, but not my fave. Alien is a great song. I loved Send For Me. This Isn't Helping was fantastic live. Cannot wait to hear all the studio versions.

My New Order T-Shirt t-shirt arrived today, too. I opted for black as I don't really like white shirts, but I'm such a Nats merch whore, I'll prob pick up the white one, too.
 
I think this one will be similar to SWB but a bit subtler. I could see it being like a massage that feels a bit light to the touch but, 15 minutes in, you realize the masseuse just quietly unlocked that knot you’ve been trying to get fixed for years. The transition from Euc to New Order is so satisfying and the driving outro of the former turns that clean guitar intro of the latter into a nice, low-key change of pace. If this is sequenced well and the songs enhance each other like these two do, I can see a new more mature sibling for the A tier National records.
SWB really just kept growing on me over the last few years. I think it’s a great record. This new one does seem to hit a similar mood in a way, but with more warmth in the sound so far. I’m just super curious to see how it all flows. I did stream the two tracks Eucalyptus and New Order T-Shirt back to back and they really do work well together. But it also just made me enjoy New Order T-Shirt more.
 
I'm surprised this is the one people have been most excited about tbh. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I am not too crazy about the chorus. However, musically the build up and climax are really nice. I like some of the verses lyrically, but it didn't totally blow me away as a whole yet. That said, some of their best songs take a bit of time to really blossom. I have just heard this one once, watching the video.
I agree this is my least favourite single thus far (it's not bad but it's not great) but like you mentioned it may grow on me...
 
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I still think New Order T-Shirt is my favorite from the bunch. On a third listen this moring to Eucalyptus I like it more than I did the first two times yesterday. Tropic Morning News is okay, but it's growing on me.
 
Tropic Morning News is my favourite of the 3!
It's definitely not bad. I didn't like it at all when it was first announced, but I think because I really, really didn't like Weird Goodbyes and it was the first song they released after that so I was probably thinking this new album was going to be all that same. I'll probably end up loving all 3 within the context of the album.
 
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