Sleep Well Beast
Studio album by
The National
ReleasedSeptember 8, 2017
Studio
Genre
Length57:32
Label4AD
Producer
The National chronology
Trouble Will Find Me
(2013)		 Sleep Well Beast
(2017)		 I Am Easy to Find
(2019)
Singles from Sleep Well Beast
  1. "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness"
    Released: May 11, 2017
  2. "Guilty Party"
    Released: June 28, 2017
  3. "Carin at the Liquor Store"
    Released: August 8, 2017
  4. "Day I Die"
    Released: August 29, 2017
  5. "I'll Still Destroy You"
    Released: October 23, 2017

Sleep Well Beast is the seventh studio album by the American indie rock band The National, released on September 8, 2017, by 4AD.[2] The album won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2018.

Promotion

On May 9, and May 10, 2017, the National's Twitter page tweeted out two short audio teasers, one from the title track and the other from the lead single, "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness".

Singles

The first single from the album, "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness", was released on May 11, 2017, alongside the album's announcement.[3] The second single, "Guilty Party", was released on June 28, 2017.[4] A third single, "Carin at the Liquor Store", was released on August 8, 2017, followed by the fourth, "Day I Die". on August 29. The fifth single, "I'll Still Destroy You", was released on October 23, 2017.

Packaging and marketing

The artwork for Sleep Well Beast consists of a black and white photograph, shot by Graham MacIndoe, of the side of a barn in Hudson Valley, New York dating back to the 18th century, bought by the guitarist Aaron Dessner and rebuilt as the album's recording studio. MacIndoe also took numerous photographs of the band during recording sessions for the album inserts.[5][6] Andrea Trabucco-Campos and Elaynna Blaser-Gould, with partner Luke Hayman, of the British design firm Pentagram, were the art directors for the album's packaging.[7]

Unusually, Pentagram also created the branding and identity for Sleep Well Beast and the band, including a corporate standards manual. Additionally, they created the marketing campaign to highlight and play on the album's themes of politics, society and propaganda as "a bit of a joke". The album and branding use the Grotesque-based font Maison with a predominantly blue and white-based color palette.[6] From the cover, the barn was condensed into a pentagon used as the branding's logo, subdivided into two squares and triangles implemented within the design and branding, even in the artwork itself, as an allusion to corporate branding.[8]

The marketing campaign was executed in several ways. The band's label, 4AD, partnered with the design company Diabolical to create a mural for the album in Shoreditch, London, containing a lyric from "Day I Die".[9] Four music videos – "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness", "Guilty Party", "Carin at the Liquor Store" and "Day I Die" – were directed by Casey Reas prior to the album's release, included in video billboard advertisements released in Times Square, London and Copenhagen. Band merchandise included the branding for the album, specifically the pentagon logo.[8][10]

Elyanna Blaser-Gould, Luke Hayman and Andrew Trabucco-Campos were nominated for Best Recording Package at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.[11][12]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.2/10[13]
Metacritic85/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
The A.V. ClubA[16]
The Guardian[17]
The Independent[18]
Mojo[19]
NME[20]
Pitchfork8.0/10[21]
Q[22]
Rolling Stone[23]
Vice (Expert Witness)A−[24]

Sleep Well Beast received widespread acclaim from music critics. On Metacritic, which assigns an average score out of 100 to reviews and ratings from mainstream music critics, the album received an average score of 85 based on 35 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[14]

In The Observer, Kitty Empire described Sleep Well Beast as an exponent of "the tension created by the hyper-musical brother duos, pacing the cage of what 'rock band' means with increased vigour. It often adds up to a subtle, grown-up take that still leaves space for drama."[25]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
NME NME's Albums of the Year 2017
13
RIOT Mag RIOT's Albums of the Year 2017
3
Rough Trade Albums of the Year
14
Stereogum 50 Best Albums of 2017
32
Vinyl Me, Please The 30 Best Albums of 2017
10
Sputnikmusic Top 50 Albums of 2017
1
Grammy Awards Winner: Best Alternative Music Album

Nominated: Best Recording Package

 — [12]
Diffuser.fm Top 25 Albums of 2017
2
 [32]
Yahoo! Top 10 Albums of 2017
2
 [33]
The Sunday Times 100 Best Albums of 2017
5
 [34]
Under the Radar Top 100 Albums of 2017
7
 [35]
Uncut 75 Best Albums of 2017
7
 [36]
Newsweek Best Albums of 2017
9
 [37]
Q 50 Best Albums of 2017
10
 [38]
Rolling Stone 50 Best Albums of 2017
11
 [39]
Mojo Top 50 Albums of 2017
12
 [40]
Uproxx 50 Best Albums of 2017
13
 [41]
USA Today 10 Favorite Albums of 2017 — [42]
American Songwriter Top 25 Albums of 2017
6
 [43]

Track listing

All lyrics and melodies written by Matt Berninger and Carin Besser; all music composed by Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner; except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."Nobody Else Will Be There"4:39
2."Day I Die" (composed by The National)4:31
3."Walk It Back" (includes an excerpt from the article "Faith, Certainty and the Presidency of George W. Bush" by Ron Suskind, first published in The New York Times)5:59
4."The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness"3:56
5."Born to Beg"4:22
6."Turtleneck"3:00
7."Empire Line"5:23
8."I'll Still Destroy You"5:15
9."Guilty Party"5:38
10."Carin at the Liquor Store"3:33
11."Dark Side of the Gym"4:50
12."Sleep Well Beast"6:31
Total length:57:32

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[74] Silver 60,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes

  1. ↑ Orchestral session
  2. ↑ Vocal sessions
  3. 1 2 3 Additional sessions
  4. ↑ Orchestration and co-production on all tracks
  5. ↑ Co-production on tracks 4, 6, 9
  6. ↑ Additional production on tracks 2, 4

References

  1. ↑ Kuettel, Benjamin (September 8, 2017). "Review: The National - Sleep Well Beast". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved December 28, 2017. Despite the changes The National have undertaken, their brand of indie rock remains as impressive and fresh as their previous classics.
  2. ↑ Wicks, Amanda (May 11, 2017). "The National Detail New Album Sleep Well Beast". PitchforkMedia. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  3. ↑ "The National unveil new single 'The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness' & announce 2017 UK tour". NME. May 11, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Hear The National's New Song, 'Guilty Party' : All Songs Considered". NPR. June 29, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  5. ↑ "The Hudson valley oasis where The National recorded their new album". CBS News. September 9, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  6. 1 2 "The National's Sleep Well Beast vinyl edition is a thing of brooding beauty". The Vinyl Factory. September 15, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  7. ↑ "The National — Story". Pentagram. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  8. 1 2 Yalcinkaya, Gunseli (September 8, 2017). "Pentagram gives The National's new album a corporate-looking visual identity as "a bit of a joke"". Dezeen. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  9. ↑ "The National". Diabolical. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  10. ↑ Brenner, Sean (September 28, 2017). "A National production: Casey Reas offers inside view of videos for top alt-rock band". UCLA Newsroom. University of California, Los Angeles. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  11. ↑ "See The Full List Of 60th GRAMMY Nominees". GRAMMY. November 27, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  12. 1 2 "Grammys 2018: See the Complete List of Nominees". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Sleep Well Beast by The National reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  14. 1 2 "Reviews and Tracks for Sleep Well Beast by The National". Metacritic. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  15. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Sleep Well Beast – The National". AllMusic. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  16. ↑ Modell, Josh (September 6, 2017). "The National doesn't rest on the excellent Sleep Well Beast". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  17. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (September 7, 2017). "The National: Sleep Well Beast review – ennui and elegance in scenes from a marriage". The Guardian. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  18. ↑ Hooton, Christopher (August 29, 2017). "The National's new album review: Sleep Well Beast paints a painful break-up so that you might avoid one". The Independent. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  19. ↑ Barnes, Mike (October 2017). "Coming clean". Mojo (287): 90.
  20. ↑ Parkinson, Hannah Jane (September 6, 2017). "The National – 'Sleep Well Beast' Review". NME. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  21. ↑ Greene, Jayson (September 8, 2017). "The National: Sleep Well Beast". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  22. ↑ Segal, Victoria (October 2017). "Public Relations". Q (377): 109.
  23. ↑ Hermes, Will (September 7, 2017). "Review: The National's Best LP Yet Haunted by Mordant Beauty, Rattled Paranoia". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  24. ↑ Christgau, Robert (November 18, 2017). "Robert Christgau on Matt Berninger's Depressive Tendencies". Noisey. Vice. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  25. ↑ Empire, Kitty (September 10, 2017). "The National: Sleep Well Beast review – a study in midlife angst". The Observer. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  26. ↑ "NME's Albums of the Year 2017". NME. November 23, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  27. ↑ "RIOT's Albums Of The Year 2017". RIOT Mag. January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Albums of the Year". Rough Trade. November 14, 2017. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  29. ↑ Stereogum Staff (December 5, 2017). "The 50 Best Albums of 2017". Stereogum. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  30. ↑ "The 30 Best Albums of 2017". Vinyl Me, Please. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Top 50 Albums of 2017". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Diffuser's Top 25 Albums of 2017". Diffuser.fm. December 15, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  33. ↑ "The best albums of 2017: Yahoo Entertainment staff picks". Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  34. ↑ Wise, Dan Cairns, David Cairns, Hugh Canning, Clive Davis, Paul Driver, Jonathan Dean, Mark Edwards, Lisa Verrico and Louis (December 3, 2017). "100 best albums of the year". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved January 10, 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  35. ↑ "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2017 | Under the Radar - Music Magazine". www.undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  36. ↑ "Uncut's 75 Best Albums of 2017". Album of The Year. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  37. ↑ "The 17 best albums of 2017". Newsweek. December 15, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  38. ↑ "Q Magazine's 50 Best Albums of 2017". Album of The Year. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  39. ↑ "50 Best Albums of 2017". Rolling Stone. November 27, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  40. ↑ "MOJO's Top 50 Albums of 2017". Album of The Year. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  41. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2017, Ranked". UPROXX. December 4, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  42. ↑ "USA TODAY's 10 favorite albums". USA TODAY. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  43. ↑ "American Songwriter's Top 25 Albums of 2017: Presented by D'Addario « American Songwriter". American Songwriter. December 4, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  44. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – The National – Sleep Well Beast". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  45. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – The National – Sleep Well Beast" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  46. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The National – Sleep Well Beast" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  47. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The National – Sleep Well Beast" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  48. ↑ "The National Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  49. ↑ "Top Kombiniranih [Top Combined]" (in Croatian). Top Combined Albums. Hrvatska diskografska udruga. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  50. ↑ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 37.Týden 2017 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  51. ↑ "Danishcharts.dk – The National – Sleep Well Beast". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  52. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The National – Sleep Well Beast" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  53. ↑ "The National: Sleep Well Beast" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  54. ↑ "Lescharts.com – The National – Sleep Well Beast". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  55. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Arch Enemy – Will to Power" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  56. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography The National". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  57. ↑ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 37 (dal 2017-09-08 al 2017-09-14)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  58. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. September 18, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  59. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The National – Sleep Well Beast". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  60. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  61. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – The National – Sleep Well Beast". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  62. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  63. ↑ "Top 100 Álbumes — Semana 37: del 08.09.2017 al 14.09.2017" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  64. ↑ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved September 15, 2017. Click on "Veckans albumlista".
  65. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – The National – Sleep Well Beast". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  66. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  67. ↑ "The National Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  68. ↑ "The National Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  69. ↑ "The National Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  70. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten Albums 2017". Ultratop. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  71. ↑ "Rapports Annuels Albums 2017". Ultratop. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  72. ↑ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  73. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2018". Ultratop. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  74. ↑ "British album certifications – The National – Sleep Well Beast". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 1, 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Sleep Well Beast in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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