Do you ever listen to the first song on a CD and feel like, “Wow, this is going to be one of those albums, one of those albums that I listen to incessantly for a really long time, one of those albums that manages to soundtrack an important part of my life that I can’t even see yet?” It’s almost a buzzing feeling, the anticipation to hear the rest of the album, tinged with the slight worry that it might let you down with the rest of the songs. And then you listen to the rest of the album on the edge of your seat, anxious and almost willing it to play at a faster speed than normal, just so you can get through it and have your answer – is it an album worthy of this feeling? Or is it just a disappointment, like so much in life?

Fuck, I think this is how falling in love feels sometimes. For me, it’s usually a slow burn of friendship that gradually turns into something else, and that’s how a lot of albums I really love work for me too (see: everything ever written by The National). This? This is rare. I really really hope it’s real.

I’m only 3 songs in at this point. I’ll let you know how it goes. But it definitely helps that they have the same producer as The National, and I can hear it in the texture of the songs.