“Maybe we’ll never lighten up/Maybe this isn’t gonna quit/I think it’s never coming back/Maybe we’ve always been like this,” guest duet partner Phoebe Bridgers sings midway through the title track of The National’s surprise 10th album. Announced last weekend and released at the start of the week, it’s a moment of spontaneity from a band that have been sounding wearier and somewhat stuck as each release has appeared.
