Though The National has enjoyed some widespread attention — Barack Obama selected “Fake Empire” and “Mr. November” as campaign songs, and Google featured the band in one of their infamous, first-ever commercials to the point that it seems like the ad was more of an endorsement for the band than for the search engine — nothing compares to the level of recognition the bands fifth full-length LP, High Violet, has been receiving. It’s become a difficult album to ignore and is poised to take the band from darling of critics and music geeks to Coldplay-like superstardom.

Full disclosure: Ive wrestled with writing this review for the last several weeks. Mostly, Ive been unsure of how to write about an LP that has been the subject of so much anticipation and has already received such overwhelming praise from major critics and bloggers. The onslaught of opinions will only continue climbing at a fever pitch now that the album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.

I have also been considering whether or not to mention that The National is, by leaps and bounds, my favorite band; which Ill admit, makes it pretty damn tough for me to be objective and brief. Because I already know Im going to be trying to sell you on the album, I think the only way to write effectively is to describe it as though I am introducing the band to a first time listener, with my excitement toned down a little tad (just so you dont gag from my gushiness.)

This article appears in May 20-26, 2010.