Sleep Well Beast [CD]

2017 release, the seventh album from the alt-rock band. The album's first single, 'The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness', blends elements of The National's signature indie rock anthems with a shot of disco funk. A shuffling drum beat and a grimy guitar loop mix with a slow-burning blend of piano, synths and horns that rise at the end with Matt Berninger's rousing plea, "I can't explain it/ Any other, any other way." The band recorded the album primarily at guitarist Aaron Dessner's studio, Long Pond, in Hudson Valley, New York, while additional sessions took place in Berlin, Paris and Los Angeles. Dessner produced the record with his brother, guitarist Bryce Dessner, and Berninger.