The National w/ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

For years The National was one of indie-rock's most infamous also-rans, the band that slipped under the radar of critics and listeners alike, but in 2007, when the group released its acclaimed album Boxer, the masses began to take notice. This year's follow-up, High Violet, arrived amid a flurry of press that put the band on the cover of almost every magazine of note, and the record lived up to the buzz: It's another lovingly crafted slab of headphone-friendly melancholy. Openers The Pains of Being Pure at Heart aren't nearly as wistful. The New York indie-pop band beefed up the cuddly lo-fi guitar-pop of their self-titled 2009 debut on this year's Belong, a bigger, bolder album recorded with Smashing Pumpkins producers Flood and Alan Moulder.