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. 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. Vikander is also featured on the album cover. A trailer was released for the companion film along with the announcement of the album. A tour promoting the album began in June 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. 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.
The album features female vocalists including Lisa Hannigan, Sharon Van Etten, Mina Tindle, Gail Ann Dorsey, Kate Stables, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.

Critical reception

I Am Easy to Find was met with universal acclaim, receiving a score of 81 on Metacritic, the review aggregating site. Reviewing in his "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." More negative critics, such as The Observers Phil Mongredien, complained about the album's flatness and inaccessibility.

Track listing

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

Personnel

The National – arrangement, performance
Featured vocalists
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
  • 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
Orchestration
  • Jonathan Gandelsman – 1st violin
  • Katie Hyun – 1st violin
  • Monica Davis – 1st violin
  • Ben Russell – 1st violin
  • Charlotte Juillard – 1st violin
  • Domitille Gillon – 1st violin
  • Nikolai Spassov – 1st violin
  • Marc Desjardins – 1st violin
  • Ariadna Teyssier – 1st violin
  • Rachel Shapiro – 2nd violin
  • Guillaume Pirard – 2nd violin
  • Sarah Whitney – 2nd violin
  • Emily Dagget Smith – 2nd violin
  • Leslie Boulin Raulet – 2nd violin
  • Matthias Piccin – 2nd violin
  • Pauline Hauswirth – 2nd violin
  • Emilie Duch-Sauzeau – 2nd violin
  • Caitlyn Lynch – viola
  • Caleb Burhans – viola
  • Miranda Sielaff – viola
  • Sarah Chenaf – viola
  • Marine Gandon – viola
  • Benachir Boukhatem – viola
  • Wolfram Koessel – cello
  • Andrea Lee – cello
  • Alan Richardson – cello
  • Juliette Salmona – cello
  • Barbara Le Liepvre – cello
  • Ella Jarrige – cello
  • Logan Coale – double bass
  • Thomas Garoche – bass
  • Grégoire Dubruel – bass
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

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.

Cast