The National tap Sufjan Stevens, St. Vincent and more for new album

The National have commissioned a host of indie-music A-listers for their forthcoming album.

In a recent interview with Gothamist, the band’s drummer Bryan Devendorf revealed that popular acts including Sufjan Stevens, St. Vincent (a.k.a. Annie Clark), Sharon Van Etten and more will be featured on the band’s sixth studio LP “Trouble Will Find Me,” which the band first announced back in February.

“There are some drum machines provided by Sufjan Stevens – he did some other things too, but he had this drum machine and he did some cool little parts on that,” said Devendorf. “It’s on a bunch [of songs], it’s definitely on ‘Demons,’ there’s some subtle stuff on ‘Pink Rabbits,’ and definitely on ‘I Need My Girl.’ But it’s not like Daft Punk or anything.”

As for the other acts they have lined up, “I know [Arcade Fire’s] Richard Reed Parry did a lot of great stuff. [Doveman] Thomas Bartlett was all over it. …[And] there are some great guest vocalists that did really awesome parts: [St. Vincent] Annie Clark, Sharon Van Etten, and Nona Marie Invie, from the band Dark Dark Dark.”

“Trouble Will Find Me” is The National’s first album since 2010’s critically-acclaimed “High Violet.” Devendorf described the mood of the new set this way:

“There’s some songs that remind me of styles we’ve done in the past. One song in particular makes me think, “oh, it could be on [2004 EP] ‘Cherry Tree.'” And there are some uptempo songs that are unlike anything we’ve done. I couldn’t say what the mood is. I would say it ranges from upbeat to introspective, and it’s kind of funny at times. The tone will sound super serious but what [Matt Berninger is] singing is actually funny.”

You can check out a full tracklisting for the new album as well as the band’s tour itinerary below.

“Trouble Will Find Me” is slated for release on May 21.

Tracklisting:

1. I Should Live in Salt
2. Demons
3. Don’t Swallow the Cap
4. Fireproof
5. Sea of Love
6. Heaenfaced
7. This Is the Last Time
8. Graceless
9. Slipped
10. I Need My Girl
11. Humiliation
12. Pink Rabbits
13. Hard to Find
 
Tour dates:

5/16:              State Theater                                   Ithaca, NY
5/26:              Boston Calling/ City Hall Plaza        Boston, MA
6/05:              Barclay’s Center                              Brooklyn, NY
6/06:               Merriweather Post Pavilion             Columbia, MD
6/07:              Mann Center for Performing Arts    Philadelphia, PA
6/08:              The National                                   Richmond, VA
6/10:              Red Hat Amphitheatre                    Raleigh, NC
6/11:              Stage AE                                         Pittsburgh, PA
6/13:              Lachine Canal                                 Montreal, Canada
6/14:              Yonge Dundas Square                    Toronto, Canada
6/15:              The LC Pavilion                               Columbus, OH
6/13-16:        Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival       Manchester, TN
6/21:              Hurricane Festival                            Scheessel, Germany
6/22:              Southside Festival                            Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany
6/25:              Cirque Royal                                     Brussels, Belgium
6/28:              Live At The Marquee                        Cork, Ireland
6/30:              Parco Della Musica                           Rome, Italy
7/01:              City Sound Festival                           Milan, Italy
7/02:              Salata                                                Zagreb, Croatia
7/14:              Bunbury Music Festival                    Cincinnati, OH
8/06:              Roy Wilkins Auditorium                    St. Paul, MN
8/10:              Greek Theatre                                   Los Angeles, CA
9/17:              Red Rocks Amphitheater                  Morrison, CO