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I Am Easy to Find (album)

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I Am Easy to Find
Studio album by
the National
ReleasedMay 17, 2019 (2019-05-17)
StudioLong Pond (Hudson Valley, New York)
  • Earthstar (Venice, California)
  • Aaron's Garage (Brooklyn, New York)
  • Alna Chapel (Hudson, New York)
  • Delta (Paris, France)
  • Dreamland (Hurley, New York)
  • FuturePast (Hudson, New York)
  • Funkhaus (Berlin, Germany)
  • Marble Garden (Cincinnati, Ohio)
  • The Overlook (Berlin, Germany)
  • Public HiFi (Austin, Texas)
  • Reservoir (New York City)
  • Sonic (Dublin, Ireland)
  • Studio G (Brooklyn, New York)
  • Saint Germain (Paris, France)
Genre
Length63:35
Label4AD
Producer
The National chronology
Sleep Well Beast
(2017) 		I Am Easy to Find
(2019) 		First Two Pages of Frankenstein
(2023)
Singles from I Am Easy to Find
  1. "You Had Your Soul with You"
    Released: March 5, 2019
  2. "Light Years"
    Released: April 4, 2019
  3. "Hairpin Turns"
    Released: May 1, 2019
  4. "Rylan"
    Released: May 16, 2019
  5. "Hey Rosey"
    Released: October 8, 2019

I Am Easy to Find is the eighth studio album by American indie rock band The National, released on May 17, 2019, via 4AD.[1] The follow-up to the band's 2017 album, Sleep Well Beast, it was supported by the lead single, "You Had Your Soul with You", and accompanied by a short film of the same name, directed by Mike Mills and starring Alicia Vikander.[2][3] Vikander is also featured on the album cover. A trailer was released for the companion film along with the announcement of the album.[4] A tour promoting the album began in June 2019.[5]

Background

[edit]

The bulk of the album was recorded at Long Pond studio in Hudson Valley, New York. Parts were recorded in other cities, including Paris, Berlin, Dublin, Cincinnati, Austin, and Brooklyn.[1] The album and film, while having influenced each other, were essentially made separately. A press release stated that the album "is not the soundtrack" for the film; the idea for the album itself came after the film was shot.[1]

The album features female vocalists including Lisa Hannigan, Sharon Van Etten, Mina Tindle, Gail Ann Dorsey, Kate Stables, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.[4]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[6]
Metacritic81/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
And It Don't StopA−[9]
The Guardian[10]
The Independent[11]
Mojo[12]
NME[13]
Pitchfork7.6/10[14]
Q[15]
Rolling Stone[16]
The Times[17]

I Am Easy to Find was met with universal acclaim, receiving a score of 81 on Metacritic, the review aggregating site.[7] Reviewing in his Substack-published "Consumer Guide" column, Robert Christgau said that "almost every track is open to substantive female input on a musical whole that feels consistently interactive and empathetic and also not so glum—even when you can’t pin down exact meanings, it makes love sound possible."[9] More negative critics, such as The Observer's Phil Mongredien, complained about the album's flatness and inaccessibility.[18]

Year-end rankings

[edit]
Year-end rankings for I Am Easy to Find
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
The A.V. Club Top 20 Albums of 2019 20 [19]
Gothamist Best Album of 2019 7 [20]
Louder Than War Top 50 Albums of 2019 11 [21]
Magnet Magazine Top 25 Albums of 2019 9 [22]
MusicOMH Top 50 Albums of 2019 14 [23]
The Skinny Top Ten Albums of 2019 6 [24]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Matt Berninger and produced by Aaron Dessner, unless noted otherwise.

I Am Easy to Find track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."You Had Your Soul with You"Carin Besser
3:26
2."Quiet Light" 
  • A. Dessner
  • B. Dessner
4:15
3."Roman Holiday"  3:34
4."Oblivions"
  • Berninger
  • Besser
  • A. Dessner
  • B. Dessner
4:13
5."The Pull of You"
  • Berninger
  • Besser
 3:58
6."Hey Rosey"Besser 4:14
7."I Am Easy to Find" 
  • A. Dessner
  • B. Dessner
4:30
8."Her Father in the Pool"InstrumentalB. Dessner1:02
9."Where Is Her Head"
 4:41
10."Not in Kansas"  6:44
11."So Far So Fast" 
  • A. Dessner
  • B. Dessner
6:36
12."Dust Swirls in Strange Light"MillsB. Dessner3:18
13."Hairpin Turns"
  • Berninger
  • Besser
  • A. Dessner
  • B. Dessner
4:27
14."Rylan"  3:43
15."Underwater"InstrumentalB. Dessner1:21
16."Light Years"  3:33
Total length:63:35

Notes

  • The album's liner notes credit all lyrics as written by Berninger, Besser and Mills; and all music as composed by A. Dessner and B. Dessner. Track-by-track credits are adapted from Tidal.[25]
  • "Not in Kansas" contains an interpolation of "Noble Experiment", originally performed by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 on the album Strangers from the Universe, written by Mark Davies, Anne Eickelberg, Brian Hageman, Jay Paget and Hugh Swarts.

Personnel

[edit]

Short film

[edit]
Main article: I Am Easy to Find (film)

Director Mike Mills developed a short film based on early clips of the songs featured on the album. As the two projects developed concurrently, the final songs used in each differ from one another.

Mills chose the title for both the short film and the album from a lyric in the song of the same name. The song was originally titled "Washington" before Mills insisted on altering it.[26]

Cast

[edit]

Charts

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Young, Alex (March 5, 2019). "The National announce new album, I Am Easy to Find, and Mike Mills-directed film". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  2. ^ Hussein, Wandera (March 5, 2019). "The National announce new album I Am Easy to Find, share single 'You Had Your Soul With You'". The Fader. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  3. ^ ""I Am Easy To Find" - A Film by Mike Mills / An Album by The National". YouTube. May 13, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Legaspi, Althea (March 5, 2019). "The National Preview 'I Am Easy to Find' LP With New Song, Stark Trailer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  5. ^ Minsker, Evan; Blais-Billie, Braudie (March 5, 2019). "The National Announce New Album and Film I Am Easy to Find, Share New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  6. ^ "I Am Easy To Find by The National reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "I Am Easy to Find by The National Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  8. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "I Am Easy to Find – The National". AllMusic. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (September 18, 2019). "Consumer Guide: September, 2019". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  10. ^ Hann, Michael (May 17, 2019). "The National: I Am Easy to Find review – melodious mood music to enthrall". The Guardian. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  11. ^ Monroe, Jazz (May 16, 2019). "The National, I Am Easy to Find review: formally expansive but oddly one-note". The Independent. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  12. ^ Doyle, Tom (June 2019). "Where are they now?". Mojo (307): 84.
  13. ^ Trendell, Andrew (May 16, 2019). "The National – 'I Am Easy To Find' review". NME. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  14. ^ Rytlewski, Evan (May 15, 2019). "The National: I Am Easy to Find". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  15. ^ Barton, Laura (July 2019). "All Change". Q (399): 104.
  16. ^ Hermes, Will (May 16, 2019). "Review: The National's Multimedia Epic 'I Am Easy to Find'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  17. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (May 17, 2019). "The National: I Am Easy To Find review". The Times. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  18. ^ I Am Easy to Find by The National, retrieved 2022-03-19
  19. ^ "The 20 Best Albums of 2019". The A.V. Club. December 19, 2019. Archived from the original on December 23, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  20. ^ Yakas, Ben (December 12, 2019). "The Best Albums of 2019". Gothamist. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  21. ^ Gabey, Ged (December 14, 2019). "Albums of the Year 2019 - Top 50". Louder Than War. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  22. ^ "Magnet's Top 25 Albums of 2019". Magnet Magazine. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  23. ^ Hubbard, Michael (December 21, 2019). "MusicOMH's Top 50 Albums of 2019". MusicOMH. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  24. ^ "The Skinny's Top Ten Albums of 2019". The Skinny. November 26, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  25. ^ "I Am Easy to Find / The National". Tidal. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  26. ^ McHenry, Jackson. "How the National, Alicia Vikander, and Mike Mills Made a Movie (and an Album) Together". Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  27. ^ "Australiancharts.com – The National – I Am Easy to Find". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  28. ^ "Austriancharts.at – The National – I Am Easy to Find" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  29. ^ "Ultratop.be – The National – I Am Easy to Find" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  30. ^ "Ultratop.be – The National – I Am Easy to Find" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  31. ^ "The National Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  32. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – The National – I Am Easy to Find". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  33. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The National – I Am Easy to Find" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  34. ^ "The National: I Am Easy to Find" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  35. ^ "Lescharts.com – The National – I Am Easy to Find". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  36. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The National – I Am Easy to Find" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  37. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography The National". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  38. ^ "Italiancharts.com – The National – I Am Easy to Find". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  39. ^ "The National". Oricon. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  40. ^ "Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. May 24, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  41. ^ "Charts.nz – The National – I Am Easy to Find". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  42. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – The National – I Am Easy to Find". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  43. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  44. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – The National – I Am Easy to Find". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  45. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  46. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – The National – I Am Easy to Find". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  47. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – The National – I Am Easy to Find". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  48. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The National – I Am Easy to Find". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  49. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  50. ^ "The National Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  51. ^ "The National Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  52. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2019". Ultratop. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  53. ^ "Independent Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  54. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
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