Boxer

Boxer is the fourth studio album by Brooklyn-based indie rock band The National. It was released on May 22, 2007 by Beggars Banquet Records, and has since sold over 300,000 copies worldwide. The album features a guest performance by Sufjan Stevens on "Ada" and "Racing Like a Pro" and backing vocals by Marla Hansen. Following its release, the album debuted at #68 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 9,500 copies in its first week. The song "Slow Show" contains lyrics from the band's song "29 Years," first found on their self-titled debut album. A film by Vincent Moon documenting the creation of the album, titled A Skin, a Night, was released along with a collection of B-sides and rarities titled The Virginia EP on May 20, 2008. The album cover is a photo of the band performing "The Geese of Beverly Road" (from the band's third album Alligator) at producer Peter Katis' wedding. The album has had pop-cultural reach, with lyrics from "Racing Like A Pro" having been excerpted in the novel Imperial Bedrooms by American author Bret Easton Ellis.