The National Unveils ‘Your Mind Is Not Your Friend’ Single & Video Featuring Phoebe Bridgers

The National released “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend,” a new single featuring special guest Phoebe Bridgers along with a video for the song. The track appears on First Two Pages Of Frankenstein, the band’s ninth studio album, which is due out on April 28 through 4AD.

The 11-track follow-up to 2019’s I Am Easy To Find was recorded in Upstate New York at Long Pond Studios. The National — Matt Berninger, Bryce Dessner, Aaron Dessner, Scott Devendorf and Bryan Devendorf — self-produced First Two Pages Of Frankenstein.

The band previously previewed the album with cuts “Tropic Morning News,” “New Order T-Shirt” and “Eucalyptus.” Taylor Swift and Sufjan Stevens also make guest appearances on the LP.

Matt Berninger penned “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend” during a stretch in which he was suffering from writer’s block. It was Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein that helped him break through the period.

“When I feel stuck, I’ll often grab a book off the shelf just to get some words in my head, and the first two pages of Frankenstein ended up triggering ‘Your Mind Is Not Your Friend,’” Berninger explained. “The book starts off with the narrator on a voyage near the Arctic Circle, and that image of being adrift helped me to write about feeling disconnected and lost and lacking in purpose. Once I started confronting that strange, blurry panic of not having ideas, everything began to crack open a bit.”

The National enlisted Phoebe’s brother, Jackson Bridgers, to direct the “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend” video. Filmed at various locations around Los Angeles, the visual stars Matt’s brother, Tom Berninger.

Watch The National’s “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend” video below:

A tour in support of the album begins in Chicago on May 18.