Alligator is the third album by Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

-based indie rock band The National

The National (band)

The National is an indie rock band formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1999 and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. The band's lyrics are written and sung by Matt Berninger, a baritone...

, released in April 2005. The album brought The National critical acclaim and led them to headline a tour, with opening act Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is an American indie rock group based in Brooklyn, New York and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their debut album, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, was self-released in 2005.-History:...

. The album was on many year-end top 10 lists, including Uncut

UNCUT (magazine)

Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...

and Planet Sound

Planet Sound

Planet Sound was a Teletext music page on ITV and Channel 4 in the UK. It was broadcast on analogue Teletext from page 340, and on digital Teletext from page 820. From May 24, 2007, Planet Sound was also available to read online via the Teletext website...

, both of which ranked it as the number two album of 2005. Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

 and NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

ranked Alligator as a top album of the 2000s. Alligator has sold over 200,000 copies worldwide.

The band performed album track "The Geese of Beverly Road" at the wedding of producer Peter Katis. A photo of the band performing on stage, with couples dancing in the foreground, became the cover of the band's next album Boxer

Boxer (album)

Boxer is the fourth studio album by Brooklyn-based indie rock band The National. It was released on May 22, 2007 by Beggars Banquet Records, and has since sold over 300,000 copies worldwide. The album features a guest performance by Sufjan Stevens on "Ada" and "Racing Like a Pro" and backing vocals...

.

The band supported Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

's presidential candidacy in 2008. In July of that year, the band designed and sold a T-shirt featuring Obama's image above the words "Mr. November," a reference to both the closing track on the album and the month of the U.S. presidential election. All proceeds were donated to Obama's campaign. (The song had been written, in part, about John Kerry

John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...

's candidacy

John Kerry presidential campaign, 2004

The Presidential Campaign of John Kerry, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and the nominee of the Democratic Party challenged Republican incumbent President George W. Bush in the U.S. presidential election on November 2, 2004. Ultimately, Kerry conceded defeat in the race in a telephone call to Bush...

 four years earlier.)

Track listing

Singles

• "Abel" (March 14, 2005)
  • CD single b/w: "Driver, Surprise Me" and "Keep It Upstairs"
  • 7" single b/w: "Warm Singing Whores"
  • Digital download b/w: "The Thrilling of Claire"
• "Secret Meeting" (August 29, 2005)
  • Digital download: "Secret Meeting" (Remix) b/w: "The Geese of Beverly Road" (Live)
• "Lit Up" (November 14, 2005)
  • CD single: "Lit Up" (Remix) b/w: "You've Done It Again, Virginia"
  • Digital download: "Lit Up" (Remix) b/w: "You've Done It Again, Virginia" and "Lit Up" (Parisian Party Version)

Credits

• Recorded by Paul Mahajan at Drummerman Studios, Jess and Ole's House, and Headgear Studios.
• Additional recording and production by Peter Katis at Tarquin Studios.
• Mixed by Peter Katis.
• Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound.
• Orchestration by Padma Newsome.
• Photography by Mathieu Saura.
• Design by Distant Station Ltd.

Additional musicians

• An-Lin Bardin – cello
• Carin Besser – vocals
• Nathalie Dessner – vocals
• Rachael Elliott – bassoon
• Peter Katis – vocals
• Nick Lloyd – piano, organ, keyboards
• Nate Martinez – guitar
• Padma Newsome – viola, violin, piano, organ
• Sara Phillips – clarinet