Album of 2007: Boxer

略帶莊嚴氣氛的鋼琴前奏帶出Matt Berninger低沉憂鬱的嗓音，平靜地歌詠著現代都會的疏離。

Stay out super late tonight
Picking apples, making pies
Put a little something in our lemonade and take it with us
We're half-awake in a fake empire

冷峻的鼓擊襯著貝斯線隨後加入開場曲Fake Empire，似乎也預告了接下來整張專輯的基調：深沉、幽暗、壓抑、內省。這是來自Ohio成立於New York的The National第四張專輯Boxer。

無論是肅穆的琴鍵聲、沙啞的電吉他、時而急促的鼓點、樸素的民謠吉他、交錯的銅管和弦樂，都優雅完美地融合為一體。細膩而宏偉，獨立完整但卻充滿層次與細節。而這些音樂恰如其分地襯托出Berninger一段段誠懇的告白。有時像Slow Show一般劃入靈魂的深處，喚起微弱的時空之光：

You know I dreamed about you
For twenty-nine years before I saw you
You know I dreamed about you
I missed you for twenty-nine years

有時像Apartment Story散發出寂寞的溫暖：

Be still for a second while I try and try to pin your flowers on
Can you carry my drink I have everything else
I can tie my tie all by myself
I'm getting tied, I'm forgetting why

Oh we're so disarming darling, everything we did believe
Is diving diving diving diving off the balcony
Tired and wired we ruin too easy
Sleep in our clothes and wait for winter to leave

一直以來總是不太偏愛沉重灰暗的曲風，如今必須驚訝地承認這是今年令我感受最深刻的音樂。多少回帶著凌亂迷惑的情緒，麻木地轉動iPod的選單懷疑該停留在什麼音樂上時，最後The National總是又一次地撫平了這些徬徨與焦慮。也許正如Pitchfork評論所言：It's the rare album that gives back whatever you put into it。

灰色的冬天聽見了來自生命底層的歌聲，雖然不確定前方的方向但心靈暫時找到了它的伴侶。這是我的Ablum of 2007。