The National announce new album, I Am Easy To Find, and a short film starring Alicia Vikander

Hot on the heels of announcing “A Very Special Evening With The National,” the powerhouse mope-rockers have announced a new album, I Am Easy To Find, which is due for release on May 17 via 4AD. Accompanying it will be an Alicia Vikander-starring short film from director Mike Mills (Beginners) inspired by the album.

As always, the band’s roped in a starry cast of collaborators, with Sharon Van Etten, Lisa Hannigan, Mina Tindle, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus intertwining their voices with Matt Berninger’s. You can also hear David Bowie collaborator Gail Ann Dorsey on the album’s chaotic lead single, “You Had Your Soul With You.” Built around spastic drums and a digitally fractured guitar line, the track is a marvel of modern production, brimming with intricacies and left turns that nevertheless feel of a piece. Hear it below.

As for the film, Mills calls it and the album “playfully hostile siblings that love to steal from each other,” and a press release adds that “they share music and words and DNA and impulses and a vision about what it means to be human in 2019, but don’t necessarily need one another.” Watch a trailer for it below.

The National have also announced a world tour with Courtney Barnett and Alvvays that will find their ocean of tears splashing across Europe and North America. Tickets go on sale this Friday. Get them here, and check out the full list of dates below.

4/16—Olympia—Paris, FR

4/18—Royal Festival Hall—London, UK

4/22—Beacon Theatre—New York, NY

4/24—Roy Thomson Hall—Toronto, ON

4/26—Orpheum Theatre—Los Angeles, CA

6/11—Mann Center—Philadelphia, PA (with Courtney Barnett)

6/12—Prospect Park Bandshell—Brooklyn, NY (with Courtney Barnett)

6/15—Bonnaroo—Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo

6/16—Coca-Cola Roxy—Atlanta, GA (with Courtney Barnett)

6/17—St. Augustine Amphitheatre—St Augustine, FL (with Courtney Barnett)

6/19—The Anthem—Washington, DC (with Courtney Barnett)

6/20—Thompson’s Point—Portland, ME (with Courtney Barnett)

6/21—Place des Arts—Montreal, QC

6/22—Pier 8—Hamilton, ON (with Courtney Barnett)

6/24—Express Live—Columbus, OH (with Courtney Barnett)

6/25—Hill Auditorium—Ann Arbor, MI (with Courtney Barnett)

6/26—Lawn at White River—Indianapolis, IN (with Courtney Barnett)

6/28—Northerly Island—Chicago, IL (with Courtney Barnett)

7/10—Castlefield Bowl—Manchester, UK

7/12—Mad Cool Festival—Madrid, ES

7/13—Hype Park—London, UK

7/15—Jahrhunderthalle—Frankfurt, DE

7/16—Stadtpark—Hamburg, DE

7/18—Dalhalla—Rättvik, SE

8/4—All Together Now—Waterford, IE

8/6—Summer Nights at the Bandstand—Glasgow, UK

8/7—Summer Nights at the Bandstand—Glasgow, UK

8/9—Ypsigrock—Sicily, IT

8/10—Sziget Festival—Budapest, HU

8/11—Summer Well—Buftea, RO

8/14—Paredes de Coura—Paredes de Coura, PT

8/16—Pukkelpop—Hasselt, BE

8/16-8/18—Lowlands—Biddinghuizen, NL

8/18—Pukkelpop—Hasselt, BE

8/28—Deer Lake Park—Vancouver, BC (with Alvvays)

8/29—Marymoor Park—Seattle, WA (with Alvvays)

8/30—Edgefield—Portland, OR (with Alvvays)

9/1—Frost Amphitheater—Stanford, CA (with Alvvays)

9/2—Greek Theatre—Los Angeles, CA (with Alvvays)

9/3—Comerica Theatre—Phoenix, AZ (with Alvvays)

9/5—Ogden Amphitheater—Odgen, UT(with Alvvays)

9/8—Santa Fe Opera House—Santa Fe, NM (with Alvvays)

9/10—360 Amphitheatre—Austin, TX (with Alvvays)

9/11—White Oak Music Hall—Houston, TX (with Alvvays)

11/25—Torwar Hall—Warsaw, PL

11/26—Columbiahalle—Berlin, DE

11/27—Columbiahalle—Berlin, DE

11/29—Royal Arena—Copenhagen, DK

12/1—Ruhrcongress—Bochum, DE

12/2—Palladium—Cologne, DE

12/3—Samsung Hall—Zurich, SW

12/4—Zenith—Munich, DE

12/5—Porsche ArenaStuttgart, DE