The National - The Virigina EP

The Virginia EP is an EP by American indie rock band The National, released in May 2008 by Beggars Banquet Records.

The National take a victory lap with this collection of demos, B-sides, live tracks, and covers.

The National, for those who are just coming in, is comprised of two sets of brothers - Bryce and Aaron Dessner, Scott and Bryan Devendorf - and Matt Berninger (plus shadow member Padma Newsom). 

The National's Boxer deservedly landed the group on year-end lists and magazine covers, helping the band spend the past several months selling out progressively bigger venues and gaining increasingly positive word-of-mouth support. But beyond all the plaudits and praise, you can most easily tell the National have made it to the top because there are so many people complaining they don't belong there. Alas, these days backlash is the true mark of the winner.

The EP works as a sort of souvenir, a reminder of the band's many highs. The three songs that kick off The Virginia EP would have made a pretty fine singles themselves, with "You've Done It Again, Virginia", the stately selling point, bolstered by the tougher "Santa Clara" and the brooding "Blank Slate". "Mansion On The Hill" is an odd cover choice to draw from Bruce Springsteen's tailor-made-for-the-National Nebraska. Of the demos included, "Tall Saint" seems closest to fruition. "

The Virginia EP is aimed at the established fan base, but it is hardly an empty victory lap. In one way it is an interesting odds ‘n sods collection, but in another, better way, it is a nice view of how the band has become what it is. It is not an EP of their finest work, but it does contain their greatest strengths. And you can hear the moments in these songs when the band absolutely nails it, and those moments make it a compelling companion to the brilliant album these recordings yielded.

Check out the tracks: “About Today (Live)”; “You’ve Done It Again, Virginia”; “Santa Clara” and “Blank State”.

This Limited Edition EP reissue is pressed in the UK on Yellow & Black Splatter vinyl.