“The day I die, the day I die/ Where will we be?” So croons Matt Berninger, in that trademark grumble, in “Day I Die” on The National’s seventh LP. Few rock bands could convert a lyric that bleak into a cathartic fist-pump, but that’s the band’s true expertise, and Sleep Well Beast delivers the indie-rock quintet’s usual quota. But as “quota” suggests, there’s also a workmanlike quality to their approach, and several tracks here feel like business as usual—emotionally affecting work, sure, but with the unshakable feeling that we’ve already been down this exact road numerous times. In particular, the LP is hampered by a run of morose ballads, like break-up reverie “Born to Beg,” that mask paper-thin melodies with luxurious production values. The album functions better in small chunks or with the slower stuff zapped off the track list altogether. Lead single “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness” is one of the band’s all-time creative high points and perhaps the closest to “fun” they’ve ever come, with Berninger skyrocketing to an emphatic roar on the chorus, shouting his ass off over barbed-wire guitar and stammering drums. Likewise, occasional flirtations with electronica and post-rock atmospherics offer a jolting verve: “I’ll Still Destroy You” mingles digital percussion, marimba and glassy guitar arpeggios, climaxing in a mesmeric symphonic wash. On these high points, Berninger demonstrates a wider dynamic range than usual—from the half-hungover growl of “Nobody Else Will Be There” to the foaming-at-the-mouth yelp of “Turtleneck.” Sleep Well Beast may tread water at times, but its subtle creative strides suggest The National are still eager to grow.