When The National announced their new album, I Am Easy To Find, back in March, they did so by sharing the lead single “You Had Your Soul With You,” an optimistic-sounding midtempo rocker that features longtime David Bowie collaborator Gail Ann Dorsey taking over lead vocal duties during the second half of the song. Last night, the band stopped by The Late Show, and that’s the song they chose to perform.
In lieu of Dorsey, the band was accompanied by This Is the Kit’s Kate Stables, Mina Tindle, and a string section for a rousing and kinetic rendition of the song. Matt Berninger’s brooding vocals were as enrapturing as ever, and the band was in top form.
Berninger previously commented on that amount of female collaborators included on the album (which features Dorsey, Stables, Tindle, Sharon Van Etten, and Lisa Hannigan), saying, “Yes, there are a lot of women singing on this, but it wasn’t because, ‘Oh, let’s have more women’s voices.’ It was more, ‘Let’s have more of a fabric of people’s identities.’ It would have been better to have had other male singers, but my ego wouldn’t let that happen.”
Watch The National perform “You Had Your Soul With You” on The Late Show above.
I Am Easy To Find is out 5/17 via 4AD. Pre-order it here.
