Boxer (The National album)

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 nearly 430,000 copies in the U.S.[1] Following its release, the album debuted at number 68 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 9,500 copies in its first week.[2]

Boxer
Studio album by The National
Released	May 22, 2007
Studio	Tarquin Studios, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Genre	Indie rock post-punk revival
Length	43:07
Language	English
Label	Beggars Banquet
Producer	Peter Katis The National
The National chronology
Alligator (2005) Boxer (2007) The Virginia EP (2008)
Singles from Boxer
"Mistaken for Strangers" Released: April 30, 2007 "Apartment Story" Released: November 5, 2007 "Fake Empire" Released: June 23, 2008

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.

Background and recording

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."[3]

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."[3]

Writing and composition

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

Artwork

The album cover is a photo of the band performing the tracks "The Geese of Beverly Road" and "Daughters of the Soho Riots" from the band's previous album, Alligator (2005), at producer Peter Katis's wedding.[4]

Promotion

The National made their television debut on July 24, 2007, performing "Fake Empire" on the Late Show with David Letterman. The band later performed "Apartment Story" on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on September 26, 2007.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	86/100[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
The A.V. Club	A[7]
The Guardian	[8]
The Irish Times	[9]
Mojo	[10]
NME	7/10[11]
Pitchfork	8.6/10[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
Slant Magazine	[14]
Spin	[15]

Boxer received widespread acclaim from music critics.[5] In the year-end issue of Paste the album was named the best record of 2007. "Mistaken for Strangers" was number 92 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 100 Best Songs of 2007".[16] Popular internet publication Pitchfork ranked the album number 17 in their annual end-of-the-year "Top 50 Albums of 2007" list,[17] as well as on Stylus Magazine's "Top 50 Albums of 2007" list at number 5.[18] Stylus also ranked "Fake Empire" at number 7 on their "Top 50 Songs of 2007" list.[19] Boxer also garnered the top position on WOXY.com's "97 Best of 2007".[20]

Boxer has made numerous "albums of the decade" lists including Pitchfork,[21] Aquarium Drunkard,[22] and Paste.[23] In 2019, the album was ranked 68th on The Guardian's 100 Best Albums of the 21st Century list.[24]

Track listing

Boxer track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Fake Empire"	Matt Berninger, Bryce Dessner	3:25
2.	"Mistaken for Strangers"	Matt Berninger, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner	3:30
3.	"Brainy"	Matt Berninger, Carin Besser, Aaron Dessner	3:18
4.	"Squalor Victoria"	Matt Berninger, Bryce Dessner	2:59
5.	"Green Gloves"	Matt Berninger, Aaron Dessner	3:39
6.	"Slow Show[25]"	Matt Berninger, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner	4:08
7.	"Apartment Story"	Matt Berninger, Aaron Dessner	3:32
8.	"Start a War"	Matt Berninger, Aaron Dessner	3:16
9.	"Guest Room"	Matt Berninger, Bryce Dessner	3:18
10.	"Racing Like a Pro"	Matt Berninger, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner	3:23
11.	"Ada"	Matt Berninger, Carin Besser, Scott Devendorf	4:03
12.	"Gospel"	Matt Berninger, Carin Besser, Aaron Dessner	4:29

Japanese CD and iTunes bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Blank Slate"	Matt Berninger, Aaron Dessner, Scott Devendorf	3:17
14.	"Santa Clara"	Matt Berninger, Aaron Dessner	4:06

Personnel

The National

• Matt Berninger – lead vocals
• Aaron Dessner – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards, piano, percussion
• Bryce Dessner – guitar, piano
• Scott Devendorf – bass, backing vocals
• Bryan Devendorf – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Produced by Peter Katis and The National
• Additional production by Aaron Dessner
• Recorded and mixed by Peter Katis at Tarquin Studios, Bridgeport, Connecticut
• Second engineer: Greg Georgio; assisted by Nathan Curry and Cory Foley-Marsello
• Home recording by The National and Brandon Reid in Brooklyn, New York and White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
• Additional recording by Greg Georgio and Josh Clark at The Seaside Lounge, and Bennett Paster at Benny's Wash n' Dry, Brooklyn
• Mastered by Fred Kevorkian at Kevorkian Mastering, New York, New York
• Orchestration by Padma Newsome
• Additional arrangements by Bryce Dessner and Aaron Dessner
• Cover photo by Abbey Drucker
• Interior photos by Clara Claus
• Design by Distant Station Ltd.

Additional musicians

• Tim Albright – trombone
• Thomas Bartlett – keyboards, accordion
• Carin Besser – vocals on "Apartment Story"
• CJ Camerieri – trumpet
• Rachael Elliott – bassoon
• Pauline de Lassus – vocals
• Marla Hansen – vocals
• Ha-Yang Kim – cello
• Padma Newsome – viola, violin, organ
• Sara Phillips – clarinet
• Alex Sopp – flute
• Sufjan Stevens – piano on "Racing Like a Pro" and "Ada"
• Jeb Wallace – French horn

Charts

Chart performance for Boxer

Chart (2007)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[26]	32
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[27]	23
French Albums (SNEP)[28]	90
Irish Albums (IRMA)[29]	31
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[30]	53
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31]	85
UK Albums (OCC)[32]	57
US Billboard 200[33]	68

References

1. "en-us > Main Body Tabbed". En-us.nielsen.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-04. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
2. Katie Hasty, "Maroon 5 Nudges Linkin Park From Atop Billboard 200", Billboard.com, May 30, 2007.
3. Cheng, Cheryl. "Interview: Matt Berninger of The National". thescenester.typad.com. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
4. "The National's Berninger Talks Boxer, Baseball, CYHSY". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 2009-01-13. Retrieved December 20, 2008.
5. "Reviews for Boxer by The National". Metacritic. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
6. Phares, Heather. "Boxer – The National". AllMusic. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
7. Modell, Josh (May 22, 2007). "The National: Boxer". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
8. Peschek, David (May 18, 2007). "CD: The National, Boxer". The Guardian. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
9. Gleeson, Sinéad (May 25, 2007). "The National: Boxer (Beggar's Banquet)". The Irish Times. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
10. "The National: Boxer". Mojo (163): 100. June 2007.
11. Pattison, Louis (May 23, 2007). "The National: Boxer". NME. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
12. Deusner, Stephen M. (May 21, 2007). "The National: Boxer". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
13. Sheffield, Rob (May 14, 2007). "Boxer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
14. Newlin, Jimmy (May 18, 2007). "The National: Boxer". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
15. Hunter, James (June 2007). "Ugly Beauty". Spin. 23 (6): 94. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
16. No byline (December 11, 2007). "The 100 Best Songs of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
17. Pitchfork Media - Top 50 Albums of 2007 Archived 2007-07-24 at the Wayback Machine
18. Stylus Staff (31 October 2007). "Top 50 Albums of 2007". Stylus. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
19. Stylus Staff (31 October 2007). "Top 50 Songs of 2007". Stylus. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
20. WOXY.com - The 97 Best of 2007 Archived February 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
21. "Staff Lists: The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 150-101". Pitchfork. 2009-09-29. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
22. "Decade :: The National, Boxer (2007)". Aquarium Drunkard. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
23. Hughes, Ken. "The 50 Best Albums of the Decade (2000-2009) :: Blogs :: List of the Day :: Paste". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
24. "The 100 best albums of the 21st century". The Guardian. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
25. Includes "29 years" from the National's debut album
26. "Ultratop.be – The National – Boxer" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
27. "The National: Boxer" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
28. "Lescharts.com – The National – Boxer". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
29. "Irish-charts.com – Discography The National". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
30. "Swedishcharts.com – The National – Boxer". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
31. "Swisscharts.com – The National – Boxer". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
32. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
33. "The National Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 19, 2021.