It’s safe to say that Scott Devendorf was midway through a pretty good week when the call was connected for this interview.
Not only was it just days before his wife would give birth – which, in turn, would force him to later announce that he would not join his band mates for their Australian tour – but the group had also just experienced the extravaganza that is the Grammys for the first time.
“It was a spectacle,” said the bassist on the 2014 awards. “It was really interesting to see up close. Lots of things to look at, lot of people, lot of fancy dresses, lot of interesting performances.”
While the band lost in their category of ‘Best Alternative Album’ to Vampire Weekend’s Modern Vampires Of The City, their first ever Grammy nomination was a shock in itself for the Brooklyn five-piece.
“We didn’t actually believe it for several minutes,” remarked Devendorf on finding out the news of their entry into the Grammy’s history books. This isn’t hard to believe, given that The National’s indie status is far from the mainstream affair that comes attached to the awards show.
While Devendorf downplayed the nomination’s importance as “not a validation”, he couldn’t deny its significance to the people in the band’s lives – especially those that may not be entirely music savvy.
“It’s definitely something that the greater world recognises as an achievement, so for us it was a bit special in that way, where friends and people who aren’t super music specific types, but just the kind of general followers, were really excited about it, so that was cool.”
The National might still be far from the popular music circles that the Grammys so often reward, but somewhere between 2010’s High Violet and last year’s Trouble Will Find Me, the group entered a wider consciousness beyond that of their cult following.
“It’s definitely something that the greater world recognises as an achievement”Some might put it down to the success of their latest album. Thanks to the Grammys, the record will look on paper, to some at least, as their greatest release thus far.
“I can’t say it’s my favourite album,” admits the bassist, “But I do like it very much and it has been really fun to play it live.”
“I think it brings attention to the band in general for a larger group of people that haven’t heard of us. It helps us break through from the cult following to people actually checking out the band and becoming interested.”
While the Grammy nomination might not be a validation per se, it does mark an important milestone in their 14-year career, which started as a “fun hobby thing”. Beginning at the turn of the century, the band continued as such for the release of their 2001 self-titled debut album and 2003’s Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers.
But when did The National go from being a side project to a fully-fledged career, one that would eventually see mass audiences and critical praise heaped upon them?
“I would say with Alligator,” began Devedorf, before explaining that releasing it on “a legitimate quote unquote recognised label” was the reason it broke through.
“It was the time when we started doing more freelance jobs and temp jobs and just started touring more. Between Alligator and Boxer were the two like ‘ok we’ve gotta do this now or not do it’.”
Even as Devendorf reflected on The National’s history and the steady evolution they’ve undertaken since that point in the mid 2000s, he admitted that every time they enter the recording studio, they’re “always a little bit worried”.
Despite the success of High Violet and the strong relationship they have with their fans, the process of crafting Trouble Will Find Me wasn’t by any means an easier feat.
“I’ve heard Matt (Berninger) talking in interviews, [saying] that ‘we were less worried about this record,’ but I think that’s true in the sense of writing, but when we’re making the records it’s very stressful.”
“We’re all very self critical and perfectionists to a certain level in different ways. So when we’re making a record it’s never really laid-back, so to speak.”
Given the band’s early years of sleeping on floors across Europe to the theatre-filling group they’ve now become, the bassist puts incredible emphasis on a recording process that doesn’t take their success for granted.
“We’ve talked about doing something more rougher and immediate”“We know that there is a lot on the line. We want people to like the record; we know that there’s a fan base that buys the records and listens to the records and obsesses over this and we do the same thing,” explains Devendorf.
“We don’t want to make a terrible record or just kick something out there. We always really work hard on a record, and I don’t think that’ll ever change.”
No one would expect a bad release from their next album, either. While the musician says that it typically takes a year for them to craft a record, they’ve already discussed where album number seven might lead them.
“We’ve talked a little bit about doing something a little less precious. We’ve kind of gone as far down the road of this sort of melancholic thing and the delicateness we’ve done that many times to success,” says Devendorf.
“We’ve talked about doing something more rougher and immediate.”
So does this mean the brooding Brooklynites will be throwing away the depressing tag for their next release?
Given that guitarist/keyboardist Aaron Dessner had previously told NME that they were “thinking for the next album we (will) make a very raw, un-produced simple record,” the band are clearly still tossing up ideas.
“But we’ve all thought that it would be cool just to do something less orchestrated, less controlled so to speak, because our music is very composed,” counters Devendorf.
“The live shows become the opposite and become rough and ready…I think we’ll just write in more of a live context.”
Fans have a little while to wait before The National even begin to work on a new release. With much of 2014 dedicated to touring, followed by a well-earned break for the band members, their direction is almost certain to change in that time.
However, by using their recent Grammy nomination as a chance to reflect upon how far The National have come – both in terms of their musicality and growing fan base – it’s safe to say that the wait will be more than worth it.
The National Australian Tour 2014
Thursday 6th February – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide. Presented by Handsome Tours.
Saturday 8th February – Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney. Presented by Sydney Opera House.
Sunday 9th February – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne. Presented by Handsome Tours.
Tuesday 11th February – Riverstage, Brisbane, Presented by Handsome Tours.
Friday 14th February – Belvoir Amphitheatre, Perth. Presented by Perth Festival.
For further information visit handsometours.com
