The National Perform Live on the Interface

The National's 2007 critically-praised album 'Boxer' debuted at No. 68 on the Billboard 200 its first week out -- not bad for an indie rock band with Ohio roots. Three years later, they reached a new plateau with their follow-up album, 'High Violet.'

"We jumped 65 spots," singer Matt Berninger told Spinner matter-of-factly of the band's No. 3 chart debut during an Interface taping at our West Coast studios.

"It was very surprising," added multi-instrumentalist Aaron Dessner, "especially because it was not just in America -- it was sort of everywhere that it did that leap." But Dessner is quick to put things in perspective. "The music industry is shrinking. It's amazing and we're so thankful to be up that high, but it's also a different world now as far as how many people buy CDs and where they buy them."

From a critical perspective, helping the album jump a whopping 65 spots ahead of its predecessor are songs like 'Afraid of Everyone,' an ode to the media-triggered paranoia of America, 'Terrible Love,' which has morphed into a powerhouse live, and the band's most anthemic track yet, 'England.' The song, with its bellowing and regal horns and tornado dynamics sounds as big as the National's new chart positions and stages.

"We miss the Mercury Lounge," Berninger said of playing the 250-capacity venue in New York City. "It's one of the places where we learned how to be a live band, I think. I also remember the first time we played there, I kinda felt like, 'Well, that's it! We've done it! We've played in New York City at Mercury Lounge!' And, you know, that was a far as I ever expected or thought being in a band would take us."

"It wasn't that long ago, we joke," said Dessner, "that we used to play shows where there were more people in the band than there were in the audience. It's still in our memory." All joking aside, he added, "We're super thankful."