A couple of months before the pandemic, I saw The National at NYC’s legendary Beacon Theater. They showed excerpts from a short film directed by Mike Mills, featuring songs from I Am Easy To Find—and ended with just a small handful of the fan favs. That night, I saw an evolution of the band that I’ve loved for many years. It’s not that they lost their edge, but they were older, wiser and more contemplative now—and “Light Years” was their beautiful banner statement for this new era.

“I was always ten feet behind you from the start.”