The National have shared the new track, “Eucalyptus,” from their forthcoming album, First Two Pages of Frankenstein. This follows the previously released tracks, “Tropic Morning News” and “New Order T-Shirt.”
The song has a definite live feel to it. It was partially recorded during a live performance last fall at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. According to a press release, Bryce Dessner had sent the song to frontman Matt Berninger so long ago that he’d forgotten about it, but Berninger wrote lyrics a few hours before the show and asked to perform it that night. “We rehearsed it twice without ever having had a demo and played it to the audience that night, and what you hear on the album was partially recorded during that performance,” Dessner said. “It’s got this raw, immediate feeling, and it made sense to leave the rough edges instead of trying to perfect them.”
As for the lyrics, Berninger commented:
“Throughout the record there’s a lot of looking into the abyss and wondering if a relationship has run its course. “Eucalyptus” is about a couple splitting up their possessions after a breakup — like, “What are we going to do with the spring water we get delivered, what’s going to happen to all these plants?” It’s about all those little things you end up having to think about when you’ve become so connected to someone.”
First Two Pages Of Frankenstein is out 4/28 on 4AD.
