Vinyl Record

The National - First Two Pages Of Frankenstein

The National - First Two Pages Of Frankenstein on limited red LP vinyl. A 2023 colour edition for The National collectors, available from Kilmorna Collection in Listowel, Ireland.

LP · 2023

Available from Kilmorna Collection in Listowel.

Buyer notes: 2023 LP, currently available from the Kilmorna Collection vinyl shelf. Pay for pickup in Listowel or ship within Ireland for EUR 5.50.

First Two Pages Of Frankenstein is The National's 2023 study in how a band rebuilds momentum without pretending the fracture did not happen. After the large ensemble frame of I Am Easy To Find, this record narrows the light: piano, restrained electronics, slow-blooming guitar, Berninger's voice close to the edge of refusal, and the Dessner and Devendorf framework holding everything together with unusual patience. The Mary Shelley echo in the title suits the mood, because these are songs about assembling a self from parts that no longer sit easily together. Eucalyptus makes separation feel bureaucratic and devastating at once. Tropic Morning News has more pulse, but even its motion feels like an argument with numbness. Once Upon a Poolside, The Alcott, This Isn't Helping and Your Mind Is Not Your Friend use guest voices not as decoration but as pressure from outside the narrator's own head. As a red-colour vinyl title, this entry may appeal to variant collectors, but the lasting reason to own it is the album's late-period vulnerability: The National sounding least certain and therefore oddly exposed.

First Two Pages Of Frankenstein matters because it catches The National in a 2023 moment when reputation alone would have made an easier record possible. Instead, they made a quieter album about creative paralysis, mental strain and continuing anyway, extending their catalogue through fragility rather than scale.

This red-colour catalogue title gives variant-minded collectors a distinct route into the same 2023 album, while the editorial weight remains with the songs themselves. It pairs naturally with Laugh Track and with the band's softer records, especially for listeners who value atmosphere, sequence and emotional continuity.

Subdued artful indie rock with piano warmth, soft electronics, suspended guitar detail, weary baritone vocals and guest harmonies that widen the record's interior space.

Recommended for: Collectors who follow The National vinyl variants; Listeners interested in the band's quieter 2023 material; Fans of melancholy indie rock with piano and guest-vocal texture.

Is this the same album as First Two Pages Of Frankenstein? Yes. The album content is The National's 2023 First Two Pages Of Frankenstein; this catalogue title identifies the red-colour vinyl variant. What are the key songs on the album? Eucalyptus, Tropic Morning News, New Order T-Shirt, The Alcott and Your Mind Is Not Your Friend are central entry points. What is the mood of First Two Pages Of Frankenstein? It is one of The National's most restrained records, built around doubt, recovery, memory and slow emotional repair.