Bryce Dessner, composer, guitarist and former Yale history major, confesses that he and his twin, Aaron – with whom he makes up two-fifths of indie rock outlet The National – have a bit of a fixation with a certain chapter of the American experiment.
“My brother and I have always been passionate Civil War buffs,” he tells Billboard from Melbourne, where the band has just played two shows at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. “For years we used to name National demos after Civil War battles – I think the song ‘Ryland’ was called ‘Fredericksburg.’”
You could call it kismet that the 47-year-old…
