What darkness? Matt Berninger shines a light on The National's latest

The National have always had a reputation for being a rather dark, melancholic band but that rep was taken to a new level with their seventh and latest album, Sleep Well Beast.
Just look at the song titles. Nobody Else Will Be There. Day I Die. The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness. I’ll Still Destroy You. And the album, one of their best, plays like a sombre exploration of the gloomier sides of the emotional crises that comes when you hit your 40s and 50s.
But after spending nearly an