Cosmic America takes a trip all the way back to the indie rock scene of 2001 New York City, when a group of white-collar rockers who had never played a gig together released their self-titled debut, “The National.” Galen and Alex find early patterns emerge among the band, recognizing musical elements and lyrical themes that return in the band’s later output. They also reach a resounding agreement that The National’s early output does not qualify as alt-country, no matter what music critics at the time had to say.

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