Boxer is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band The National, released on May 22, 2007 on Beggars Banquet Records. Produced by both Peter Katis and the band itself, the album has sold nearly 430,000 copies in the U.S. Following its release, the album debuted at #68 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 9,500 copies in its first week. A documentary film, titled A Skin, A Night, was released the following year. Focusing on the recording process of Boxer, the film was directed by independent filmmaker Vincent Moon, and released in conjunction with a collection of b-sides, demos and live recordings, titled The Virginia EP, on May 20, 2008.
Background and recording
The band recorded Boxer with producer Peter Katis, with vocalist Matt Berninger stating, "We recorded a lot of it at home. Probably half and half of home recording and recording with Peter in the studio. We always kind of work that way, going in and out of studios and then back home. We have little home set-ups. He has been a big part of the band for awhile, at least in the recording of the records. He kind of jumps in as a seventh member." Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens appears on the tracks, "Racing Like a Pro" and "Ada". Regarding his recording contributions, Berninger noted, "Bryce has played a lot with touring band, so Bryce knows him really well. And lives in the same neighborhood that Bryce and Aaron live in. They just called him and he came over for a day. It was a one-day collaboration. Him, Bryce and Aaron hang out a lot and make little songs together, so it was really a kind of casual type of collaboration."
Writing and composition
The track "Slow Show" contains lyrics from the band's song "29 Years," which previously appeared on their self-titled debut album.
Artwork
The album cover is a photo of the band performing the tracks "The Geese of Beverly Road" and "Daughters of the Soho Riots" from the band's previous album, Alligator, at producer Peter Katis's wedding.
Two songs off Boxer appeared in episodes of the NBC series Chuck. "Slow Show" appeared on "Chuck Versus the Tango" which aired October 8, 2007, while "Fake Empire" appeared in "Chuck Versus the Break-up" on October 13, 2008. "Slow Show" was also featured in Gossip Girl, in the episode "O Brother, where Bart Thou?" while "Fake Empire" appeared in Person of Interest episode "Sotto Voce", the final scenes of the pilot episode of NBC's police dramaSouthland, as well as the concluding scenes of the 2008 movie Battle in Seattle. "Fake Empire" also featured in Barack Obama's campaign video "Signs of Hope and Change." "Start a War" appeared on an episode of The Riches, which aired March 25, 2008 and "Bullet," the 19th episode of the 7th and final season of Cold Case, aired on April 4, 2010, as well as in the 2011 film Warrior. "Mistaken for Strangers" made an appearance in an advertisement for E4's Skins series. The fifth season premiere of the teen drama One Tree Hill, entitled "4 Years, 6 Months, 2 Days", featured the songs "Fake Empire," "Green Gloves," and "Slow Show", whilst the following episode of the series was called "Racing Like a Pro". The tenth episode of the science fiction dramaDefying Gravity, titled "Deju Vu," featured the song "Start a War", as did the episode of medical drama House, titled "Larger Than Life". The song "Start a War" was also featured on Friday Night Lights in the episode "Keep Looking." Lyrics from "Racing Like A Pro" having been excerpted in the novelImperial Bedrooms by American author Bret Easton Ellis. Boxer is set to be the season one subject of a podcast, , which will explore the album's lyrics and music, and incorporate interviews with the band and key personnel involved in Boxer's production.
Reception
Boxer received widespread acclaim from music critics. In the year-end issue of Paste the album was named the best record of 2007. "Mistaken for Strangers" was #92 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 100 Best Songs of 2007." Popular internet publication Pitchfork ranked the album #17 in their annual end-of-the-year "Top 50 Albums of 2007" list, as well as on Stylus Magazines "Top 50 Albums of 2007" list at #5. Stylus also ranked "Fake Empire" at #7 on their "Top 50 Songs of 2007" list. Boxer also garnered the #1 position on WOXY.com's "97 Best of 2007.". Boxer has made numerous "albums of the decade" lists including Pitchfork, Aquarium Drunkard, and Paste. In 2019, the album was ranked 68th on The Guardians 100 Best Albums of the 21st Century list.
