The National are on the verge of releasing their eighth studio album, I Am Easy to Find. Today, they’ve shared the third single off the record, “Hairpin Turns,” via a black & white video from Mike Mills. Mills is also directing the companion short film, I Am Easy to Find, which stars Alicia Vikander and will screen in select theaters this month.
“The dancer Sharon Eyal is sort of a continuation of Alicia Vikander’s character from the film I Am Easy To Find,” said Mills. “We thought of her as Alicia’s unconscious, or her shadow self – that has her own life in this space.” Alongside Eyal, the clip also focuses in on each of the members of the band as well as the song’s featured guests Gail Ann Dorsey, Pauline de Lassus, and Kate Stables alone in a white room. Mills explains the concept like this:
“The video is a very simple portrait of the band (and the friends who helped make the song) and the song itself: You see all the instruments that make up the song in isolation, even hear them recorded live on set over the album version, kind of like showing you the tracks that make up the song.And you see everyone who contributed alone, including Gail Ann Dorsey, Pauline Delasser (a.k.a. Mina Tindle) and Kate Stables – but your mind puts them together.”
“Hairpin Turns” follows the singles “You Had Your Soul With You” and “Light Years.” I Am Easy to Find follows 2017’s Sleep Well Beast and is out May 17 via 4AD. The National will play Marymoor Park on Thursday, August 29. Below, watch the video for “Hairpin Turns” as well as The National’s 2017 KEXP in-studio performance.
It's the second single from their forthcoming album I Am Easy to Find
The band's eighth studio album is out May 17 on 4AD
The bassist discusses everything from the group’s unique approach to collaboration, their mutual love for graphic design and video, his side-project LZNDRF, and a bit of what it was like to be animated for Bob’s Burgers
