Mosaic - The National

Esplanade Theatre/Sunday

Lots of bands make broody moody music but none does it like Ohio-born, Brooklyn-based indie rockers The National.

There is frontman Matt Berninger’s distinctive voice – a richly resonant and soulful baritone with a magnetic presence.

And of course, the magnificent songs, drawn largely from their last two acclaimed albums, Boxer (2007) and High Violet (2010). They are mostly written by Berninger and the twin brothers/ guitarists Aaron and Bryce Dessner.

There is the music itself – buzzing guitars, gently propulsive drums and the on-stage presence of a trumpet and a trombone for added texture.

And the lyrics can be strikingly evocative as in Bloodbuzz Ohio – “I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees” – or when Berninger sang of being “showered and blue- blazered” on Mistaken For Strangers.

Indeed, he was looking dapper in a black suit complete with tie and vest while his bandmates were togged out in black and grey.

Unexpectedly, the bearded frontman also had an offbeat sense of humour and, after explaining that he was drinking wine and not urine on stage, he deadpanned at one point: “Time for more swan’s urine. It’s hard to hold down a swan and make it pee into a bottle.”

He might dress like a sombre gentleman but there was a showman side to Berninger as well. During Squalor Victoria, he loosened his tie and let out his inner rock star. He flung the mike-stand to the ground as he shouted the lyrics: “This isn’t working, f*** that.”

For the set-closer Fake Empire, he came down from the stage and was borne aloft by fans as he walked over the seats. It sent the sold-out crowd into a near-frenzy.

Incidentally, an instrumental version of Fake Empire had been featured in American President Barack Obama’s election campaign.

For a moment, it seemed as though Berninger was about to get political when he asked if anyone had been following American politics.

Then he added: “It’s been particularly awful this week... but I won’t talk about it,” before segueing into Terrible Love.

The final song of the evening was the hauntingly cryptic Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks. Over acoustic guitars and mournful brass, the band crooned: “Vanderlyle crybaby cry/Though the water’s a-rising/Still no surprising you.”

Earlier in the evening, Berninger had thanked the crowd for waiting after the band postponed their Asian tour in March due to the earthquake in Japan.

Fans would say that it was worth the wait.

(ST)