High Violet
| High Violet | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by The National | ||||
| Released | May 10, 2010 | |||
| Recorded | March 2009 – January 2010 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, post-punk revival | |||
| Length | 47:40 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | 4AD | |||
| Producer | The National | |||
| The National chronology | ||||
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| Singles from High Violet | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 85/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| The A.V. Club | A |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ |
| The Guardian | |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| MSN Music | A− |
| NME | 8/10 |
| Pitchfork Media | 8.7/10 |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | 8/10 |
High Violet is the fifth studio album by The National, which was released on May 10, 2010 in Europe and on May 11, 2010 in North America via 4AD. The band produced the album themselves assisted by Peter Katis with whom they worked on their previous albums Alligator and Boxer at their own studio in Brooklyn, New York, and at Katis' Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The sculpture on the album cover was created by artist Mark Fox, and is called The Binding Force.
An expanded edition of High Violet was released through 4AD on November 22, 2010. The reissue includes the standard 11-track album along with a new bonus disc, featuring the unreleased tracks "You Were a Kindness" and "Wake Up Your Saints" as well as alternate versions, B-sides, and live recordings.
On March 10, 2010, they performed opening track "Terrible Love" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, two months before the album's release.
The album's first single "Bloodbuzz Ohio" was made available for download on the band's website on March 24, 2010. The song was also released on 7" vinyl (with the exclusive B-side "Sin-Eaters") on May 3, 2010.
On April 19, 2010, a low-quality version of the album was leaked onto the internet in its entirety which prompted the band to announce that the album would be streaming on The New York Times' website from April 23 until April 27, then on NPR's website until May 11.
On May 13, 2010, the band played "Afraid of Everyone" on the Late Show with David Letterman. Sufjan Stevens sang backup for them during this performance.
High Violet sold 51,000 copies in its first week of sales, charting at #3 on the Billboard 200. This marks The National's highest charting effort yet (beating Boxer, which debuted at #68).
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