Sleep Well Beast

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.

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

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
[26]
RIOT Mag RIOT's Albums of the Year 2017
3
[27]
Rough Trade Albums of the Year
14
[28]
Stereogum 50 Best Albums of 2017
32
[29]
Vinyl Me, Please The 30 Best Albums of 2017
10
[30]
Sputnikmusic Top 50 Albums of 2017
1
[31]
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. 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
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  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.
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