Like REM when they were good, The National's superficially simple songs have a real depth and resonance. The National formed in 1999, when five friends from Cincinnati, Ohio met again after all of them had relocated to Brooklyn, NY. They are Aaron Dessner (guitars, bass), Bryce Dessner (guitar), Scott Devendorf (guitar; bass), Bryan Devendorf (drums), and Matt Berninger (vocals).

For years, the band had received critical praise but it wasn't until 2005 Alligator that a wider audience finally discovered them. Alligator ended up in the higher echelons of scores of year-end critics lists and the band found themselves selling out large venues across Europe, the UK, and the US.

Written over the course of thirteen months at their homes in Brooklyn, NY, Boxer is the result of a lot of hard work and marks a new chapter in the band's career. Mostly recorded at Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, CT, it was then produced and mixed by the band and Peter Katis (Interpol, Spoon). Boxer hits as high as Alligator but is a different record - just another classic album from a band on top form.