

A gloomy subset of modern indie rock can be traced back to The National's haunting expressions of 21st-century ennui. It's appealed to those in gray England, like Editors ("An End Has a Start") and White Lies ("Death"), who wash the booming baritones of their frontmen in stark, atmospheric post-punk, while moody Manchester rockers The Slow Show take their very name from a song by The National.