Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	86/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The A.V. Club	A
The Guardian
The Irish Times
Mojo
NME	7/10
Pitchfork	8.6/10
Rolling Stone
Spin
Uncut

Boxer is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band The National, released on May 22, 2007 on Beggars Banquet Records. Produced by both Peter Katis and the band itself, the album has sold over 300,000 copies in the U.S. Following its release, the album debuted at #68 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 9,500 copies in its first week.

A documentary film, titled A Skin, A Night, was released the following year. Focusing on the recording process of Boxer, the film was directed by independent filmmaker Vincent Moon, and released in conjunction with a collection of b-sides, demos and live recordings, titled The Virginia EP, on May 20, 2008.

The band recorded Boxer with producer Peter Katis, with vocalist Matt Berninger stating, "We recorded a lot of it at home. Probably half and half of home recording and recording with Peter in the studio. We always kind of work that way, going in and out of studios and then back home. We have little home set-ups. He has been a big part of the band for awhile, [sic] at least in the recording of the records. He kind of jumps in as a seventh member."

Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens appears on the tracks, "Racing Like a Pro" and "Ada". Regarding his recording contributions, Berninger noted, "Bryce has played a lot with [Sufjan’s] touring band, so Bryce knows him really well. And [Sufjan] lives in the same neighborhood that Bryce and Aaron live in. They just called him and he came over for a day. It was a one-day collaboration. Him, Bryce and Aaron hang out a lot and make little songs together, so it was really a kind of casual type of collaboration."

The track, "Slow Show", contains lyrics from the band's song, "29 Years," which previously appeared on their self-titled debut album.

The album cover is a photo of the band performing the track "The Geese of Beverly Road," from the band's previous album, Alligator (2005), at producer Peter Katis's wedding.

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