For the first time since 2014, The National will return next month to play shows in Sydney at The Sydney Opera House (first show sold out, second show announced), Brisbane at Riverstage and Melbourne atSidney Myer Music Bowl. Full dates and ticketing details below.

Today, Handsome Tours & Remote Control are excited to further announce special guests, Little May, as support act for all Australian shows.

After releasing and internationally touring their critically acclaimed album, For The Company, recorded in a nineteenth century church in upstate New York with The National’s Aaron Brooking Dessner, 2017 was a year of change for Little May. Liz Drummond and Hannah Field started the year by farewelling lead guitarist Annie Hamilton as she headed off to pursue other creative projects, and saw the outfit focus on writing their highly anticipated sophomore album, a body of work that may be their most bold, raw and honest offering yet.

Little May have become known for the quality of their live shows, performing sold out headline tours from London to Paris to Berlin and all over Australia and the USA. They have graced the stages of Splendour In The Grass, Bonnaroo Festival, Gentlemen of The Road – alongside the likes of The Flaming Lips and Alabama Shakes, St Jerome’s Laneway Festival and The Great Escape, to name a few. Filling out the band with new and old friends Rob Muinos, Mark Harding and Sam Raines, Little May are excited to hit the road for the first time in over a year in support of their friends, The National, performing some new songs and offering a preview of what’s to come.

The National’s Australian tour will follow the release of their seventh LP, Sleep Well Beast, out now on4AD / Remote Control Records. On top of a wealth of unforgettable music spanning six critically acclaimed records, this will mark the first time Australian audiences will hear live performances fromSleep Well Beast – hosted at premiere venues made to showcase one of the most formidable and impeccable live acts in the world.

Sleep Well Beast is out now: https://thenational.lnk.to/sleepwellbeast

The National – Australian Tour Dates 2018
Support from Little May

Wed 21 Feb – Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney NSW (SOLD OUT)
Thu 22 Feb – Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney NSW (SECOND SHOW)
Tue 27 Feb – Riverstage, Brisbane QLD
Thu 1 Mar – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne VIC

For ticketing info and enquiries visit Handsome Tours.

The National ‘Darkside Of The Gym’

The National – Sleep Well Beast

Nobody Else Will Be There
Day I Die
Walk It Back
The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness
Born to Beg
Turtleneck
Empire Line
I’ll Still Destroy You
Guilty Party
Carin at the Liquor Store
Dark Side of the Gym
Sleep Well Beast

The National – Touring Australia February 2018.

THE NATIONAL

Share video for ‘Dark Side Of The Gym’
Sleep Well Beast nominated for two GRAMMY Awards
Australian tour dates February & March 2018

The National are pleased to release the video for ‘Dark Side Of The Gym’, directed, choreographed and starring NYC Ballet Resident Choreographer and soloist Justin Peck and executive produced by former Miami City Ballet dancer and current dance filmmaker Ezra Hurwitz. Also starring former Miami City Ballet mentor and Principal dancer, Patricia Delgado, the video finds the duo gracefully move around a balloon filled auditorium. The video premiered via New Yorker, who described it as “essentially an extended pas de deux, highly technical but low-key, intimate, and a little sexy…The song and the video read like a love letter. At the end, as the music frays and the dancing stops, the camera settles on Delgado’s sorrowful, vulnerable expression.” Watch the video via the link below.

It’s already been a big week for the band, with their critically acclaimed new album Sleep Well Beast receiving Grammy nominations for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package.

The National will return to Australia in February 2018 for the first time since 2014. They will play shows inSydney at The Sydney Opera House, Brisbane at Riverstage and Melbourne at Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Full dates and ticketing details below.

Sleep Well Beast is available via https://thenational.lnk.to/sleepwellbeast

The National – ‘Dark Side Of The Gym’

The National – Australian Tour Dates 2018

Wed 21 Feb – Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney NSW
Thu 22 Feb – Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney NSW
Tue 27 Feb – Riverstage, Brisbane QLD
Thu 1 Mar – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne VIC

For ticketing info and enquiries visit Handsome Tours.

THE NATIONAL’S SLEEP WELL BEAST NOMINATED FOR BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM FOR THE 2018 GRAMMY® AWARDS

SLEEP WELL BEAST ALSO NOMINATED FOR BEST RECORDING PACKAGE

Today, The Recording Academy® announced its nominations for the 60th annual GRAMMY® Awards including a nomination for The National in the Best Alternative Music Album category for their 2017 release Sleep Well Beast. This is the second Best Alternative Album GRAMMY nomination for The National, who were nominated for their last album, Trouble Will Find Me. Sleep Well Beast, with designers Luke Hayman and Andrea Trabucco-Campos of Pentagram, also received a nomination for Best Recording Package.

The National have established themselves as mainstays of arenas and festivals with sold-out performances and headlining slots around the world. With the release of Sleep Well Beast, The National achieved their highest chart position in the US to date, coming in at #2 on the Billboard Top 200. In addition they scored #1’s in the UK, Ireland, Portugal and Canada. The band received their highest chart position ever in a total of eleven countries. The National also claimed their first #1 at commercial radio on the Triple-A radio chart with “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness.”The songs off Sleep Well Beast are instantly recognizable as The National, but their sound has evolved and expanded. Sleep Well Beast is currently gracing best of 2017 lists around the globe. “It was important that we genuinely explore new territory and risk falling on our faces, or not make a record at all,” explains guitarist and producer Aaron Dessner. “This album feels complete to me.”

What critics are saying about Sleep Well Beast:

“The National’s upcoming full-length, Sleep Well Beast, is shaping up to be the best album the band has done.” – NPR

“Elegant melancholia isn’t enough for the National anymore. On its seventh album, Sleep Well Beast, its new songs have more rhythmic ferment and melodic crosscurrents; they translate emotional complexity into musical counterpoint.” – New York Times

“This seventh record from the aughts’ indie superstars promises a feast of grandiose rock.” – New York Magazine

“Over the past 16 years this veteran indie quintet has quietly become one of the biggest bands in the country, and with their seventh album they’ve achieved the rare feat of releasing one of their best – if not the best – collection to date.” – Variety

“On Sleep Well Beast, the usual National ingredients are in place-cryptic imagery, brooding baritone, all-consuming melancholy-accompanied by an increasing interest in electronic rhythms and textures. ” – Newsweek

“The indie band’s seventh LP lives up to their acclaim as one of the nation’s best, with sullen Matt Berninger’s sullen croon turning midtempo ballads like ‘Nobody Else Will Be There’ into full-blow anthems. And the guitar work of brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner impresses more than ever, particularly on the squalling ‘Turtleneck.'” – People Magazine

“The National is back when we need them most…on their sonically expansive seventh outing, [they] have come roaring back with their most ambitious, urgent album yet.”

– USA Today

“Sleep Well Beast is what it is: an emotional battlefield, beautifully drawn, familiar and true. Berninger voices a panicked, depressive insomniac who might be any of us, trying to hold it together while everything falls apart.” – Rolling Stone

Photo Credit: Graham MacIndoe

More about The National

Both individually and collectively The National’s members have been involved in countless artistic, charitable and socio-political pursuits. The group released ‘A Lot of Sorrow’ documenting their collaboration with installation artist Ragnar Kjartansson, that took place at MOMA’s PS1 and saw the band play their song “Sorrow” for six hours in front of a live audience. They are behind the Red Hot benefit albums Dark Was The Night and Day Of The Dead, and most recently compilation boxed set titled 7-Inches for Planned Parenthood. The band’s members have received a Golden Globe Nomination for work on the score of the 2015 film The Revenant, founded or play a major part in MusicNow, Eeux Claires and Haven Festival and Boston Calling, and participated heavily in both Obama Presidential Campaigns, and much more.

2013 also saw the theatrical release of their documentary, “Mistaken For Strangers” set to the backdrop of the band’s 2010 release High Violet. The documentary was chosen to premiere on the opening night of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival followed by a theatrical release in the US and worldwide distribution. Over their 16-year career the band has sold more than 1.7 million albums in the U.S. alone.

The National consists of Matt Berninger (vocals) fronting two pairs of brothers: Aaron (guitar, bass, piano) and Bryce Dessner (guitar, piano), and Scott (bass, guitar) and Bryan Devendorf (drums).

THE NATIONAL

 Release video for ‘I’ll Still Destroy You’ Touring February 2018

Praise for Sleep Well Beast

“The irresistible, off-kilter scaffolds of drummer Bryan Devendorf, and the slow dawn of one glorious melody after another, will keep you plenty occupied…” – Rolling Stone ★★★★

“…wonderful crescendo. Enjoy.” – Herald Sun, Album Of The Week

“Their music is almost immediately identifiable: The churn and meshing the Dessner and Devendorf brothers’ instrumental textures then overlaid with Matt Berninger’s ruminations on the human condition.” – The Music ★★★★

“Sleep Well Beast is everything you could ever want out of a National album and more.” – Beat 9.5

“…a towering achievement.” – STACK

Today, The National released the video for ‘I’ll Still Destroy You’, off their most recent album Sleep Well Beast. See the band tour across Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne next February & March. Full ticket details below.

‘I’ll Still Destroy You’ was directed by Allan Sigurðsson and Icelandic performance and installation artist Ragnar Kjartansson. Ragnar, who also appears in the video, collaborated with The National for A Lot Of Sorrow which saw the band play their song ‘Sorrow’ for six hours in front of a live audience at MOMA’s PS1. ‘I’ll Still Destroy You’ was filmed in Copenhagen, Denmark during the Aaron and Bryce Dessner created HAVEN Festival. It was shot in one hour at Dope & Korruption, a pop-up bar created by Ragnar offering arancini, chocolate truffles, prosecco, classical music and a sailor striptease. During the video shoot the bar was shut down by Danish security officials and destroyed the day after.

Sleep Well Beast is the band’s seventh studio album and the follow up to their GRAMMY nominated album Trouble Will Find Me. Over their 16-year career the band has sold more than 1.7 million albums in the U.S. alone.

Sleep Well Beast is available in CD, digital and double LP here: thenational.lnk.to/SleepWellBeast

The National – ‘I’ll Still Destroy You’ (official video)

The National – Australian Tour Dates 2018

Wed 21 Feb – Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney NSW – SOLD OUT
Thu 22 Feb – Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney NSW – NEW SHOW ADDED
Tue 27 Feb – Riverstage, Brisbane QLD
Thu 1 Mar – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne VIC

For ticketing info and enquiries visit Handsome Tours.

The National – Sleep Well Beast

Nobody Else Will Be There
Day I Die
Walk It Back
The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness
Born to Beg
Turtleneck
Empire Line
I’ll Still Destroy You
Guilty Party
Carin at the Liquor Store
Dark Side of the Gym
Sleep Well Beast

THE NATIONAL LP7 Sleep Well Beast out today Touring February 2018

Praise for Sleep Well Beast

“The irresistible, off-kilter scaffolds of drummer Bryan Devendorf, and the slow dawn of one glorious melody after another, will keep you plenty occupied…” – Rolling Stone ★★★★

“…wonderful crescendo. Enjoy.” – Herald Sun, Album Of The Week

“Their music is almost immediately identifiable: The churn and meshing the Dessner and Devendorf brothers’ instrumental textures then overlaid with Matt Berninger’s ruminations on the human condition.” – The Music ★★★★

“Sleep Well Beast is everything you could ever want out of a National album and more.” – Beat 9.5

“…a towering achievement.” – STACK

THE NATIONAL Share video for new single ‘Day I Die’ LP7 Sleep Well Beast out Friday 8th September

The National have shared their latest track ‘Day I Die’ from their forthcoming album Sleep Well Beastreleased Friday 8th September via 4AD / Remote Control Records.

The video, which was directed by Casey Reas, compresses the frenetic energy of performing with the grind of touring. It’s a day in the life of The National. Reas adds, “Graham MacIndoe captured eighteen time-lapse photo series during rehearsals at Le Centquatre in June 2017 in Paris. Hours of rehearsal are compressed into a few minutes. Over five thousand of these photographs were brought together to make the final video. I wrote custom software to collage multiple photographs together and to compile them into videos. A flickering colour layer abstracted from broadcast television signals augments the black and white footage. The images here are played back at 12fps, near the threshold of the persistence of vision.”  Watch the video via the image below.

The National will embark on their world tour which will arrive in Australia in February 2018. They will play shows in Sydney at The Sydney Opera House, Brisbane at Riverstage and Melbourne at Sidney Myer Music Bowl. On top of a wealth of unforgettable music spanning six critically acclaimed records, this will mark the first time Australian audiences will hear live performances from Sleep Well Beast –hosted at premiere venues made to showcase one of the most formidable and impeccable live acts in the world. Full dates and ticketing details below.

Sleep Well Beast was produced by member Aaron Dessner with co-production by Bryce Dessner andMatt Berninger.  The album was mixed by Peter Katis and recorded at Aaron Dessner’s Hudson Valley, New York studio, Long Pond.

Sleep Well Beast is available for pre-order at https://thenational.lnk.to/sleepwellbeast and will be available in CD, digital and double LP formats.

The National – ‘Day I Die’
Stream / Download https://thenational.lnk.to/DayIDie

The National – Australian Tour Dates 2018

Wed 21 Feb – Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney NSW
Tue 27 Feb – Riverstage, Brisbane QLD
Thu 1 Mar – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne VIC

For ticketing info and enquiries visit Handsome Tours.

The National – Sleep Well Beast

Nobody Else Will Be There
Day I Die
Walk It Back
The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness
Born to Beg
Turtleneck
Empire Line
I’ll Still Destroy You
Guilty Party
Carin at the Liquor Store
Dark Side of the Gym
Sleep Well Beast

The National – Sleep Well Beast is out Friday 8th September via 4AD / Remote Control Records.

THE NATIONAL’S LEAD SINGLE “THE SYSTEM ONLY DREAMS IN TOTAL DARKNESS” HITS #1 ON TRIPLE-A CHART SINGLE OFF FORTHCOMING NEW ALBUM

SLEEP WELL BEAST OUT SEPTEMBER 8 VIA 4AD

Congratulations to The National whose single, ” The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness” has claimed the #1 spot on the BDS Triple-A radio chart.  This marks the band’s first #1 at commercial radio.  “The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness” is off The National’s forthcoming album Sleep Well Beast which is set to be released on September 8 via 4AD.   As with the entire album, the single was produced by member Aaron Dessner with co-production by Bryce Dessner and Matt Berninger.  Sleep Well Beast was mixed by Peter Katis and recorded at Aaron Dessner’s Hudson Valley, New York studio, Long Pond.  Sleep Well Beast is available for pre-order and will be available in CD, digital and double LP formats.

Watch “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness,” in this Casey Reas directed video.

“‘The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness’ blends elements of the National’s signature indie rock anthems with a shot of disco funk. A shuffling drum beat and a grimy guitar loop mix with a slow-burning blend of piano, synths and horns that rise at the end…” – Rolling Stone

“the National re-emerges upbeat, verging on danceable, with ‘The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness,’ a plaint about lost intimacy delivered with a kicking drumbeat, an insistent distorted guitar lick and a strobing video clip. The band hasn’t set aside its fondness for Minimalism; there’s lots of repetition in the underlying arrangement. But this time the National is willing to swing.”   –The New York Times

“Produced by Aaron Dessner ‘System’ has a sound that’s sharper than on The National’s past two albums – more propulsive than dense – and it gleams and shudders with nervous bravado.” – NPR

“Here, they all sound more energized, jutting forward with a slick confidence.” – Pitchfork (Best New Track)

“No matter what Matt’s singing about here it sounds good, and “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness” is a pleasant omen for whatever other uncommon amalgamations might come next on Sleep Well Beast.” – Spin

The National have confirmed a world-tour in support of  Sleep Well Beast.  Dates kick off  in Cork, Ireland on September 16.  Highlights include Forest Hills Stadium in New York on October 6, The Hollywood Bowl on October 11 and multiple night residencies in more than 10 cities across Europe and North America.  In advance of the tour The National have played Glastonbury (“Could The National Be Glastonbury’s Next Headliners?” said the NME review) and the upcoming Haven Festival in Copenhagen. For additional information and pre-sale registration visit www.americanmary.com. Photos, album art and bio available here.

Sleep Well Beast Album Cover

Sleep Well Beast is available for pre-order in CD, digital and double LP formats.

TRACK LIST:

Nobody Else Will Be There

Day I Die

Walk It Back

The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness

Born to Beg

Turtleneck

Empire Line

I’ll Still Destroy You

Guilty Party

Carin at the Liquor Store

Dark Side of the Gym

Sleep Well Beast

Image credit : Graham MacIndoe

WORLD TOUR:

08/12/17 – HAVEN Festival – Copenhagen, DENMARK

9/16/17 – Cork Opera House / Sounds From a Safe Harbour – Cork, IRELAND (SOLD OUT)

9/17/17 – Vicar Street – Dublin, IRELAND (SOLD OUT)

9/18/17 – Vicar Street – Dublin, IRELAND (SOLD OUT)

9/20/17 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh, UK (SOLD OUT)

9/21/17 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh, UK (SOLD OUT)

9/22/17 – O2 Apollo – Manchester, UK (SOLD OUT)

9/23/17 – O2 Apollo – Manchester, UK (SOLD OUT)

9/25/17 – Eventim Hammersmith Apollo – London, UK

9/26/17 – Eventim Hammersmith Apollo – London, UK

9/27/17 – Eventim Hammersmith Apollo – London, UK

9/28/17 – Eventim Hammersmith Apollo – London, UK (SOLD OUT)

10/05/17 – Wang Theatre – Boston, MA (SOLD OUT)

10/06/17 – Forest Hills Stadium – New York, NY

10/7/17 – Stage AE – Pittsburgh, PA

10/8/17 – Masonic Hall – Detroit,MI

10/11/17 – Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA

10/12/17 – CalCoast Credit Union Open Air Theatre – San Diego, CA

10/14/17 – Greek Theatre – Berkeley, CA

10/21/17 – Elbphilharmonie – Hamburg, GERMANY

10/23/17 – Tempodrom – Berlin, GERMANY

10/24/17 – Tempodrom – Berlin, GERMANY

10/25/17 – AFAS Live – Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS (SOLD OUT)

10/26/17 – AFAS Live – Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS

10/28/17 – Coliseum – Lisbon, PORTUGAL (SOLD OUT)

10/30/17 – Bozar – Brussels, BELGIUM (SOLD OUT)

10/31/17 – Bozar – Brussels, BELGIUM (SOLD OUT)

11/02/17 – 11/04/17 – Pitchfork Paris, Paris FRANCE

11/04/17 – Annexet – Stockholm, SWEDEN (SOLD OUT)

11/05/17 – Annexet – Stockholm, SWEDEN

11/06/17 – Sentrum Scene – Oslo, NORWAY (SOLD OUT)

11/07/17 – Sentrum Scene – Oslo, NORWAY

11/27/17 – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall – Portland, OR (SOLD OUT)

11/28/17 – Paramount Theatre – Seattle, WA (SOLD OUT)

11/29/17 – Paramount Theatre – Seattle, WA (SOLD OUT)

12/01/17 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre – Vancouver BC, CANADA (SOLD OUT)

12/02/17 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre – Vancouver BC, CANADA (SOLD OUT)

12/04/17 – Verizon Hall – Philadelphia, PA (SOLD OUT)

12/05/17 – The Anthem – Washington,DC

12/07/17 – Metropolis – Montreal QC, CANADA (SOLD OUT)

12/08/17 – Metropolis – Montreal QC, CANADA (SOLD OUT)

12/09/17 – Sony Centre – Toronto ON, CANADA (SOLD OUT) (SOLD OUT)

12/10/17 – Hamilton Place Theatre – Hamilton ON, CANADA (SOLD OUT)

12/12/17 – Civic Opera House – Chicago, IL (SOLD OUT)

12/13/17 – Civic Opera House – Chicago, IL (SOLD OUT)

Today, The National have released the single ‘Guilty Party’ off their forthcoming album Sleep Well Beast out on the 8th September via 4AD / Remote Control Records. Sleep Well Beast was produced by member Aaron Dessner with co-production by Bryce Dessner and Matt Berninger and recorded at Aaron’s Hudson Valley, NY studio, Long Pond. To celebrate the forthcoming album the band will be throwing a Guilty Party at Basilica Hudson on July 14^th and 15^th. The collaborative concert will be performed in the round and will feature Buke & Gase, Nadia Sirota, Mouse On Mars, SO Percussionand more.

Video artist Casey Reas will be contributing live projection mapping for the event. Reas also directed the video for single, ‘Guilty Party’. “The video is a dream about memory and the degradation of memory; it’s about distance in time and space,” says Reas. “Time moves forward, but then backward as memory. The image of the two-faced Roman god Janus, who can look into the past and future, is the core visual language.” Watch the video via the image below.

Last week in Paris and the UK, The National performed new material off the forthcoming album for audiences for the first time. Portions of their victorious main stage set at Glastonbury can be viewed via the BBC. NME said in reviewing the Glastonbury performance, “their set’s only flaw: it just all ended too soon. But the impact they made was immense. They’ve played the long game, and they’ve won. It’s time for the world’s biggest cult band to become a whole new beast.”

The National – ‘Guilty Party’
Stream / Download: https://thenational.lnk.to/GuiltyParty

The National – ‘The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness’
Stream / Download https://remotecontrol.lnk.to/TheNational

The National – Sleep Well Beast
Nobody Else Will Be There
Day I Die
Walk It Back
The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness
Born to Beg
Turtleneck
Empire Line
I’ll Still Destroy You
Guilty Party
Carin at the Liquor Store
Dark Side of the Gym
Sleep Well Beast

The National – Sleep Well Beast is out Friday 8th September

Via 4AD / Remote Control Records.