The title song from The National‘s newest album, Laugh Track, now has an animated music video courtesy of the director of the Bob’s Burgers Movie, Bernard Derriman. The track features Phoebe Bridgers and the video captures a slightly amorphous couple calmly discussing their current situation as the room they’re in fills with smiley blob creatures.
Videos by American Songwriter
“[Bridgers’] voice is the soft edge of the song,” said The National’s Matt Berninger of the collaboration. “It takes some of the snarky, sarcastic bitterness out of it and makes it sweet and gentle.”
This isn’t The National’s first partnership with either Bob’s Burgers or Phoebe Bridgers. The band collaborated with Bridgers on the song “Your Mind is Not Your Friend” from their ninth album First Two Pages of Frankenstein, which was released in April 2023. It also featured collaborations with Taylor Swift and Sufjan Stevens.
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Laugh Track, in comparison, was almost a complete surprise for fans. The album was announced on September 16 and officially released two days later. Having once again tapped Bridgers for a duet, The National proves they have talented friends, as well as great taste in collaborations.
As for the Bob’s Burgers link, The National began by covering the show’s Thanksgiving song from 2012. They then snagged a feature on the official soundtrack, appeared in an animated capacity on the series, performed at a live event with the cast in 2017, and covered subsequent Thanksgiving songs from the show.
The characters in the video have distinct Bob’s Burgers animation and design, although the style in this video is a bit more on the loose, sketchy side. The two characters are each singing Berninger and Bridgers’ parts of the song, and when the Bridgers character pulls the Berninger character out of the sea of cackling blobs, it reiterates what Berninger said about her contribution to the track; there’s a lightness and softness to that moment that is captured both sonically and visually.
Photo by Sebastian Reuter/Getty Images
