The National released a new album

This month, The National released a new album. 2010 has been a pretty dry year for music so far. MGMT’s recent release disappointed me. But this — this High Violet album — could be something special. I’ve listened to the first two songs on the soon-to-be-defunct Lala music service (thanks, Apple!) and I’m finding it hard to move on to the next tracks.

I haven’t figured out what makes this band so magical. They have a folksy, melodic, and catchy sound, to be sure, with rich layers of instrumentation and plenty of mood to spare. But there’s something else to them. All I can call it is soul.

Update: I’m now four songs in and the bliss remains high. This may be my new favorite band.

Update Two: I’m six songs in and these people are inspired. You can listen to two of their recent tracks along with some older ones at their Myspace page. There are plenty of other ways to hear their music as well, but at least those are ones they’ve selected for your aural pleasure.

Update Three: I completely missed the fact that they’ll be performing live on YouTube tonight at 8 PM. Too cool.