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The National's Boxer: 33 1/3
We all know the Boxer. The fighter who remembers every glove but still remains. That grisly, bruised American allegory who somehow gets up more times than he’s knocked down. This is the fight that nearly broke The National. The one that allowed them to become champions.
Released in 2007, The National’s fourth full-length album is the one that saved them. For fans, Boxer is a profound personal meditation on the unmagnificent lives of adults, an elegant culmination of their sophisticated songwriting, and the first National album many fell in love with. For the band, Boxer symbolizes an obsession, a years-long struggle, a love story, a final give-it-everything-you’ve-got effort to keep their fantasy of being a real rock band alive.
Based on extensive original interviews with the fighters who were in the ring and the spectators who witnessed it unfold, Ryan Pinkard obsessively reconstructs a transformative chapter in The National’s story, revealing how the Ohio-via-Brooklyn five-piece found the sound, success, and spiritual growth to evolve into one of the most critically acclaimed bands of their time.
Released in 2007, The National’s fourth full-length album is the one that saved them. For fans, Boxer is a profound personal meditation on the unmagnificent lives of adults, an elegant culmination of their sophisticated songwriting, and the first National album many fell in love with. For the band, Boxer symbolizes an obsession, a years-long struggle, a love story, a final give-it-everything-you’ve-got effort to keep their fantasy of being a real rock band alive.
Based on extensive original interviews with the fighters who were in the ring and the spectators who witnessed it unfold, Ryan Pinkard obsessively reconstructs a transformative chapter in The National’s story, revealing how the Ohio-via-Brooklyn five-piece found the sound, success, and spiritual growth to evolve into one of the most critically acclaimed bands of their time.
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Published April 29, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 24, 2025
Straight-ahead interviews and lyric sheets and band photos make for a perfect revisiting of 2007.
If Geese is the resurgence of NYC rock, The National represent my apex. On the shoulders of The Walkmen, nurtured by Sufjan, and with excess tempered by professional responsibilities, Boxer was self-nostalgic in its conception.
If Geese is the resurgence of NYC rock, The National represent my apex. On the shoulders of The Walkmen, nurtured by Sufjan, and with excess tempered by professional responsibilities, Boxer was self-nostalgic in its conception.
August 27, 2025
Good account of a great band's coming out via an excellent record (top three indie rock of the 2000s, no question), but also a roundabout recounting of the last few years that music criticism had the capability to provide any sort of runway of success for artists.
June 14, 2025
Blew through this in a day. Great read with fascinating interviews with all interested parties. Worth it for National fans.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews