I Am Easy to Find (album)

I Am Easy to Find is the eighth studio album by American indie rock band The National, released on May 17, 2019, via 4AD.^[1] The follow-up to the band's 2017 album, Sleep Well Beast, it was supported by the lead single, "You Had Your Soul with You", and accompanied by a short film of the same name, directed by Mike Mills and starring Alicia Vikander.^[2][3] Vikander is also featured on the album cover. A trailer was released for the companion film along with the announcement of the album.^[4] A tour promoting the album began in June 2019.^[5]

I Am Easy to Find
Studio album by the National
Released	May 17, 2019 (2019-05-17)
Studio	Long Pond (Hudson Valley, New York) Earthstar (Venice, California) Aaron's Garage (Brooklyn, New York) Alna Chapel (Hudson, New York) Delta (Paris, France) Dreamland (Hurley, New York) FuturePast (Hudson, New York) Funkhaus (Berlin, Germany) Marble Garden (Cincinnati, Ohio) The Overlook (Berlin, Germany) Public HiFi (Austin, Texas) Reservoir (New York City) Sonic (Dublin, Ireland) Studio G (Brooklyn, New York) Saint Germain (Paris, France)
Length	63:35
Label	4AD
Producer	Mike Mills The National
The National chronology
Sleep Well Beast (2017) I Am Easy to Find (2019) First Two Pages of Frankenstein (2023)
Singles from I Am Easy to Find
"You Had Your Soul with You" Released: March 5, 2019 "Light Years" Released: April 4, 2019 "Hairpin Turns" Released: May 1, 2019 "Rylan" Released: May 16, 2019 "Hey Rosey" Released: October 8, 2019

Background

The bulk of the album was recorded at Long Pond studio in Hudson Valley, New York. Parts were recorded in other cities, including Paris, Berlin, Dublin, Cincinnati, Austin, and Brooklyn.^[1] The album and film, while having influenced each other, were essentially made separately. A press release stated that the album "is not the soundtrack" for the film; the idea for the album itself came after the film was shot.^[1]

The album features female vocalists including Lisa Hannigan, Sharon Van Etten, Mina Tindle, Gail Ann Dorsey, Kate Stables, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.^[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.7/10^[6]
Metacritic	81/100^[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[8]
And It Don't Stop	A−^[9]
The Guardian	^[10]
The Independent	^[11]
Mojo	^[12]
NME	^[13]
Pitchfork	7.6/10^[14]
Q	^[15]
Rolling Stone	^[16]
The Times	^[17]

I Am Easy to Find was met with near-universal acclaim, receiving a score of 81 on Metacritic, the review aggregating site.^[7] Reviewing in his Substack-published "Consumer Guide" column, Robert Christgau said that "almost every track is open to substantive female input on a musical whole that feels consistently interactive and empathetic and also not so glum—even when you can’t pin down exact meanings, it makes love sound possible."^[9] More negative critics, such as The Observer's Phil Mongredien, complained about the album's flatness and inaccessibility.^[18]

Year-end rankings

Year-end rankings for I Am Easy to Find

Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
The A.V. Club	Top 20 Albums of 2019	20	^[19]
Gothamist	Best Album of 2019	7	^[20]
Louder Than War	Top 50 Albums of 2019	11	^[21]
Magnet Magazine	Top 25 Albums of 2019	9	^[22]
MusicOMH	Top 50 Albums of 2019	14	^[23]
The Skinny	Top Ten Albums of 2019	6	^[24]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Matt Berninger and produced by Aaron Dessner, unless noted otherwise.

I Am Easy to Find track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"You Had Your Soul with You"	Carin Besser	Aaron Dessner Bryce Dessner Thomas Bartlett	3:26
2.	"Quiet Light"		A. Dessner B. Dessner	4:15
3.	"Roman Holiday"			3:34
4.	"Oblivions"	Berninger Besser	A. Dessner B. Dessner	4:13
5.	"The Pull of You"	Berninger Besser		3:58
6.	"Hey Rosey"	Besser		4:14
7.	"I Am Easy to Find"		A. Dessner B. Dessner	4:30
8.	"Her Father in the Pool"	Instrumental	B. Dessner	1:02
9.	"Where Is Her Head"	Berninger Besser Mike Mills		4:41
10.	"Not in Kansas"			6:44
11.	"So Far So Fast"		A. Dessner B. Dessner	6:36
12.	"Dust Swirls in Strange Light"	Mills	B. Dessner	3:18
13.	"Hairpin Turns"	Berninger Besser	A. Dessner B. Dessner	4:27
14.	"Rylan"			3:43
15.	"Underwater"	Instrumental	B. Dessner	1:21
16.	"Light Years"			3:33
Total length:				63:35

Notes

• The album's liner notes credit all lyrics as written by Berninger, Besser and Mills; and all music as composed by A. Dessner and B. Dessner. Track-by-track credits are adapted from Tidal.^[25]
• "Not in Kansas" contains an interpolation of "Noble Experiment", originally performed by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 on the album Strangers from the Universe, written by Mark Davies, Anne Eickelberg, Brian Hageman, Jay Paget and Hugh Swarts.

Personnel

The National – arrangement, performance Matt Berninger Aaron Dessner Bryce Dessner – orchestration Bryan Devendorf Scott Devendorf Benjamin Lanz – touring member Kyle Resnick – touring member Featured vocalists Gail Ann Dorsey (1–3, 6, 10, 13) Eve Owen (2, 9) Diane Sorel (2) Mina Tindle (4) Lisa Hannigan (5, 10, 11, 13) Sharon Van Etten (5) Kate Stables (7, 10, 14) Brooklyn Youth Chorus (8, 12, 15) Technical personnel Jonathan Low – recording, additional mixing, score mixing Bella Blasko – assistant engineering Peter Katis – album mixing Zach Seivers – score sound design Greg Calbi – mastering Steve Fallone – mastering Sean O'Brien – additional recording Aaron Dessner – additional production, additional recording Bryce Dessner – additional production Matt Berninger – additional production Curt Kiser – additional production (6, 13) Thomas Bunio – additional recording Isaac Joel Karns – additional recording Steph Marriano – additional recording Ber Quinn – additional recording Andi Toma – additional recording Eli Walker II – additional recording Jan St. Werner – additional recording Artwork Osk – album design Mike Mills – creative direction Additional musicians Thomas Bartlett – keyboards, piano Andrew Broder – drum programming Eric Cha-Beach – percussion, chord stick Gail Ann Dorsey – vocals Lisa Hannigan – vocals Isaac Joel Karns – synthesizer Benjamin Lanz – synthesizer, trombone Mélissa Laveaux – vocals Padma Newsome – strings Eve Owen – vocals Kyle Resnick – vocals Alexander Ridha – synthesizer Ben Sloan – drums Diane Sorel – vocals Jan St. Werner – programming Kate Stables – vocals Mina Tindle – vocals Andi Toma – programming Jason Treuting – drums, percussion, chord stick Sharon Van Etten – vocals Justin Vernon – OP-1

Orchestration Jonathan Gandelsman – 1st violin (New York) Katie Hyun – 1st violin (New York) Monica Davis – 1st violin (New York) Ben Russell – 1st violin (New York) Charlotte Juillard – 1st violin (Paris) Domitille Gillon – 1st violin (Paris) Nikolai Spassov – 1st violin (Paris) Marc Desjardins – 1st violin (Paris) Ariadna Teyssier – 1st violin (Paris) Rachel Shapiro – 2nd violin (New York) Guillaume Pirard – 2nd violin (New York) Sarah Whitney – 2nd violin (New York) Emily Dagget Smith – 2nd violin (New York) Leslie Boulin Raulet – 2nd violin (Paris) Matthias Piccin – 2nd violin (Paris) Pauline Hauswirth – 2nd violin (Paris) Emilie Duch-Sauzeau – 2nd violin (Paris) Caitlyn Lynch – viola (New York) Caleb Burhans – viola (New York) Miranda Sielaff – viola (New York) Sarah Chenaf – viola (Paris) Marine Gandon – viola (Paris) Benachir Boukhatem – viola (Paris) Wolfram Koessel – cello (New York) Andrea Lee – cello (New York) Alan Richardson – cello (New York) Juliette Salmona – cello (Paris) Barbara Le Liepvre – cello (Paris) Ella Jarrige – cello (Paris) Logan Coale – double bass (New York) Thomas Garoche – bass (Paris) Grégoire Dubruel – bass (Paris) Brooklyn Youth Chorus Maya Baijal Jeanne Bransbourg Joseph Brooks Morgan Colton Cora Clum Fannie Feynberg Thalia Glyptis Lila Hasenstab Natalie Hawkins Amayah Hutchinson Abigail Lienhard Raquel Klein Maya Renaud-Levine Clara Rosarius Maya Sequira Tafyana Sgaraglino Avery Soto Sarah Sotomayor Katy Urda Anna Vartsaba Clementine Vonnegut Mariana Weaver Aliyah Weiss Dianne Berkun Menaker – artistic direction

Short film

Main article: I Am Easy to Find (short film)

Director Mike Mills developed a short film based on early clips of the songs featured on the album. As the two projects developed concurrently, the final songs used in each differ from one another.

Mills chose the title for both the short film and the album from a lyric in the song of the same name. The song was originally titled "Washington" before Mills insisted on altering it.^[26]

Cast

• Alicia Vikander
• Kate Adams as Young mother
• Riley Shanahan as Young father

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for I Am Easy to Find Chart (2019) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)^[27] 6 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[28] 2 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[29] 2 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[30] 9 Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[31] 4 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)^[32] 8 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[33] 5 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[34] 8 French Albums (SNEP)^[35] 32 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[36] 2 Irish Albums (IRMA)^[37] 3 Italian Albums (FIMI)^[38] 15 Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[39] 98 Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)^[40] 30 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[41] 6 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[42] 14 Polish Albums (ZPAV)^[43] 31 Portuguese Albums (AFP)^[44] 2 Scottish Albums (OCC)^[45] 3 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)^[46] 11 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[47] 11 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[48] 2 UK Albums (OCC)^[49] 2 US Billboard 200^[50] 5 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[51] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for I Am Easy to Find Chart (2019) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[52] 55 US Independent Albums (Billboard)^[53] 15 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[54] 84

References

1. Young, Alex (March 5, 2019). "The National announce new album, I Am Easy to Find, and Mike Mills-directed film". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
2. Hussein, Wandera (March 5, 2019). "The National announce new album I Am Easy to Find, share single 'You Had Your Soul With You'". The Fader. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
3. ""I Am Easy To Find" - A Film by Mike Mills / An Album by The National". YouTube. May 13, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
4. Legaspi, Althea (March 5, 2019). "The National Preview 'I Am Easy to Find' LP With New Song, Stark Trailer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
5. Minsker, Evan; Blais-Billie, Braudie (March 5, 2019). "The National Announce New Album and Film I Am Easy to Find, Share New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
6. "I Am Easy To Find by The National reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
7. "I Am Easy to Find by The National Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
8. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "I Am Easy to Find – The National". AllMusic. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
9. Christgau, Robert (September 18, 2019). "Consumer Guide: September, 2019". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
10. Hann, Michael (May 17, 2019). "The National: I Am Easy to Find review – melodious mood music to enthrall". The Guardian. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
11. Monroe, Jazz (May 16, 2019). "The National, I Am Easy to Find review: formally expansive but oddly one-note". The Independent. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
12. Doyle, Tom (June 2019). "Where are they now?". Mojo (307): 84.
13. Trendell, Andrew (May 16, 2019). "The National – 'I Am Easy To Find' review". NME. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
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