They debuted it on a late night show and ripped the arse off it - then the album came and it just sounded so weak in comparison.
In fairness, I think the national always sound more tearing live (and it’s a nice duality for them to have, as their studio sound would never work live and vice versa), but I really was disappointed.
The outcry was so great that they then recorded the ‘single’ version, but, as I said above - they couldn’t catch that feeling, and I guess that’s why they didn’t try to in the first place. It sounds like shit.
Unfortunate a great live performance made both studio versions sound tame. Don’t know if that’s a failing of the recording, or a weird quirk of The National, whose bangers always sound better live. They’d probably argue that by and large they’ve massively benefited from having a unique studio sound, and I’d agree tbh.