The National live at Manchester Apollo (Gary Mather / Live4ever)
It was in 2018 when The National’s Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon released their debut, self-titled Big Red Machine album. Whilst results overall were mixed, it did produce some absolute gems including Hymnostic which was named as one of Live4ever’s top tracks of that year.
And now, with news that the pair are back recording songs together again, the full studio version of their collaboration with Michael Stipe has been shared. “On a whim, I shared a folder of in-progress BRM sketches with Michael last year, and it was exciting when he really gravitated to a few of them,” Dessner has told Rolling Stone of No Time For Love Like Now..
“Michael wrote the lyrics to No Time for Love Like Now last fall, but when the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic and social-distancing and self-isolation descended, they felt like they were written about this time all along and perhaps the message resonates especially now.”