Review
Matt Berninger’s rumbling baritone and Bryan Devendorf’s snare-heavy rhythms have always been the twin engines of The National, but live albums rarely translate their full kinetic chemistry. Captured at an outdoor amphitheater in Italy, Rome (Full Concert) bottles the quintet's current onstage dynamism, stripping away immaculate studio layering in favor of a bruised, propulsive momentum.
Critics view the release as a definitive snapshot of the indie rock veterans' ongoing endurance. Record Collector argues that these "affectingly overdub-free songs reveal an essential truth" about the group, proving "they're a band at the absolute height of their live powers." The sheer physical force of the rhythm section drives much of the critical enthusiasm; Uncut singles out Devendorf as the band's "secret weapon," noting how his "rippling, muscular runs provide a racing human pulse" that electrifies their mid-tempo melancholia.
Rather than treating their sprawling catalogue like fragile artifacts, the record lets the repertoire fray, bark, and bleed. As Paste observes, the older compositions "have only become more prescient and powerful" in front of an audience, allowing anxious brass and jagged guitars to culminate in an unvarnished communal catharsis.
