The National Share "Weird Goodbyes," Featuring Bon Iver

BY Alex HudsonPublished Aug 22, 2022

As promised, the National have returned with the new single "Weird Goodbyes" featuring their buddy Bon Iver. It's out through 4AD.

The song also features the London Symphonic Orchestra, performing a string arrangement by the band's own Bryce Dessner.

"It's about letting go of the past and moving on, then later being overwhelmed by second thoughts," singer Matt Berninger said in a statement.

The band's Aaron Dessner said, "'Weird Goodbyes' was one of the first new songs we made. I was misusing drum machines, as usual, and stumbled onto this beat that got stuck in my head — it felt like something only Bryan [Devendorf] could naturally play. We built the song around the beat. Matt's melody and words felt so elegant and moving from the beginning — mourning a loss of innocence and motivation, holding onto memories and feelings that inevitably slip away and the grief we all suffer in weird goodbyes."

Hear "Weird Goodbyes" below. The band have been performing various new songs on the road this year, but there's currently no official word on any upcoming release plans beyond this. A tour is reportedly planned for 2023.

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