The National have released two new songs, ‘Alphabet City’ and ‘Space Invader’, announcing the singles on social media along with a visualizer for ‘Alphabet City’, drawn and animated by Pauline de Lassus aka Mina Tindle. The release of ‘Space Invader’ and ‘Alphabet City’ follows the release of the band’s ninth album, First Two Pages of Frankenstein.

The National’s Bryce Dessner revealed the difficulties they had to overcome making the album, stating “our relationships had become largely focused on the work on the music, but we’d lost track of each other.” He continued: “We’ve said that things felt fragile before, but I think this time was different. I think it was quite real and I think that it was actually necessary. We needed to let it go and accept the possibility that it would end.”

Bryce’s brother, Aaron Dessner, also said: “There’s a weird thing about The National; it’s just an evergreen, creative organism that just won’t die. Eventually no matter how far away we go from it, there’s the centre of gravity that pulls you back.”

Take a look at the visualizer for Alphabet City – here; and
listen to Space Invader – here.

Editorial credit: Christian Bertrand / Shutterstock.com