The National Releases Fourth And Last Song Ahead Of New Album

The National (Photo: Josh Goleman)

JAKARTA - The American rock unit, The National, has released its fourth and final track ahead of the release of the album First Two Pages of Frankenstein on April 28.

This beautiful song Your Mind Is Not Your Friend features Phoebe Bridgers, and tells about how to deal with the attachments of habitual thoughts and extraordinary controlling qualities.

"Don't you understand? Your mind is not your friend again. It takes you by the hand. And leaves you nowhere” frontman Matt Berninger sings along with the distinct grace and haunting nature of Bridgers' vocals.

The song arose during a period of deadlock in writing for Berninger - a challenge he partially overcame with the help of Mary Shelley's classic novel Frankenstein.

“When I was feeling stuck, I would often pick a book off the shelf just to get a few words in my head, and the first two pages of Frankenstein finally sparked 'Your Mind Is Not Your Friend,'” recalls Berninger.

“This book begins with the narrator on a journey near the Arctic Circle, and that imagery adrift helped me write about feelings of disconnection and loss and a lack of purpose. Once I started dealing with this weird, opaque panic of having no ideas, things started to open up a bit."

Meanwhile, the sad and nostalgic video for Your Mind Is Not Your Friend stars Matt's brother Tom, who is familiar to fans of The National from his 2014 film about the band, Mistaken For Strangers.

The clip was directed by Jackson Bridgers, Phoebe's brother, and was filmed in locations around Los Angeles.

In recognition of the song's mental health theme, The National made a donation to TinyChanges.org, a charity founded in memory of Frightened Rabbit vocalist Scott Hutchinson by his family.

"Scott made small changes that made a big impact," they wrote on the charity's website. "His honesty and openness about his mental health inspired people from all walks of life."