The National are usually more for reserved fare, their arrangements wide, the tone hushed, punctuated by articulate bursts of energy in their melodies. The mood is usually kept in perfect syncopation by Berninger’s baritone musings, his lyrics styling a postmodern bent while channeling a Jack Kerouac muse. However “Wake Up Your Saints” finds The National in a completely different mode. The melody is bursting with a hopeful enthusiasm from the outset, with a bright piano punctuated by a fat baritone sax sound, and a upbeat back-beat. Even Berninger is on the up and up, staying at the higher end of his register for the entirety. This song is a wonderful addition to the National catalog, a sound that i had been quick to write them off of ever attempting.
The Art of the Mixtape 