The National‘s Cherry Tree EP was released after fan favorite and minimal standout album Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers. The EP held fans over while the band came down from the high that was one of the crowning achievements with a hugely successful tour and said studio album. The group obviously still maintained fresh ideas but they weren’t quite ready for another album’s worth of material. With that said, the tracks present are very beautiful (as is most of their material) but much more robust in nature. Taking steps in a new, much fuller direction, there are ideas displayed that were definitely giving us a glimpse of what was to come. A must for the hardcore fans. 2021 remastered pressing released by 4AD.

• black vinyl pressing
• remastered sound
• music label:4AD 2021
• also available: The National(2021 Remaster) | Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers (2021 Remaster)

reviewed by Running Mang 09/2017