The National has released the fourth and final offering ahead of its upcoming album, First Two Pages of Frankenstein (out April 28th via 4AD), the idyllic “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend” featuring Phoebe Bridgers. The track confronts the entanglements of the habitual mind and the overwhelming nature of scrutiny. “Don’t you understand? / Your mind is not your friend again / It takes you by the hand/ And leaves you nowhere,” frontman Matt Berninger croons in tandem with the distinct grace and haunting nature of Bridgers’ vocals. Listen to “Your Mind is Not Your Friend” featuring Phoebe Bridgers HERE.
The song emerged during a period of writer’s block for Berninger – a challenge he partially overcame with the help of Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein. “When I feel stuck, I’ll often grab a book off the shelf just to get some words in my head, and the first two pages ofFrankenstein ended up triggering ‘Your Mind Is Not Your Friend,’” Berninger recalls. “The book starts off with the narrator on a voyage near the Arctic Circle, and that image of being adrift helped me to write about feeling disconnected and lost and lacking in purpose. Once I started confronting that strange, blurry panic of not having ideas, everything began to crack open a bit.”
The wistful, nostalgic video for “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend” stars Matt’s brother Tom, familiar to fans of The National from his 2014 film about the band, Mistaken For Strangers. Extending the sibling theme, the clip was directed by Jackson Bridgers, Phoebe’s brother, and filmed at locations around Los Angeles.
In recognition of the song’s mental health theme, The National is making a donation to TinyChanges.org, the charity established in the memory of Frightened Rabbit lead singer Scott Hutchinson by his family. “Scott made tiny changes that had a big impact,” they write on the charity’s website. “His honesty and openness about his own mental health inspired people from all walks of life.”
Since its February release, the first single from the new album, “Tropic Morning News,” has reached No. 1 on Billlboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart, marking The National’s first song to hit that peak since 2017. In addition, jumping off from the second release “New Order T-Shirt,” The National has also partnered with New Order on an actual, limited-edition New Order T-Shirt that pays homage to the Manchester band’s iconic album designs, with a portion of the proceeds from the collab going to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. The National x New Order shirt is available at https://shop.americanmary.com/.
The 11-song First Two Pages of Frankenstein was produced by The National at Long Pond Studios in upstate New York and features guest appearances by Taylor Swift and Sufjan Stevens. Pre-order for the album is available now HERE and at americanmary.com, and pre-order is also now available HERE for an exclusive Magnolia Record Store variant of the LP in opaque turquoise.
The National will begin a 2023 world tour with a four-night stand in Chicago on May 18. The itinerary, with numerous shows already sold out, also includes the band’s first show at New York’s Madison Square Garden on August 18 with very special guest Patti Smith and her band. Other shows feature opening sets from Soccer Mommy, The Beths and Bartees Strange. Tickets are on sale now; more information can be found at AmericanMary.com.
Formed in New York in 1999, The National has scored five top 10 albums on The Billboard 200, with 2017’s Sleep Well Beast earning the Grammy for Best Alternative Album.
