The National‘s Matt Berninger and Andrew Bird have covered Lou Reed‘s ‘Perfect Day’ during a stripped-back living room set.

The National recently debuted a new song live with the help of St Vincent at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre. St Vincent’s Annie Clark joined the band to sing on ‘Prom Song 13th Century (Frankie & Johnny)’.

Earlier this summer, Andrew Bird began a series called Live From the Great Room, where he invites musicians to perform an acoustic set with him. John C. Reilly and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James have previously appeared on the show.


This episode saw Bird welcome The National frontman, with the set opening up with ‘Pink Rabbits’, taken from the band’s ‘Trouble Will Find Me’ album.

The duo then performed Andrew Bird’s ‘Heretics’ and original Fiona Apple duet ‘Left Handed Kisses’ before finishing with a cover of Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’.

The National recently admitted their new album will be a huge departure from 2013’s ‘Trouble Will Find Me’. The band told NME they have gone electronic for their next record. “We’re playing together in a room, which means we’re jamming more,” explained frontman Matt Berninger. “But it’s not a jam record at all – the songs are much more like weird, math-y, electronic-y stuff.”

He added: “A lot of songs are going in completely different directions. But that’s a really fun place to be. We’re in the middle of the wilderness, in a rainforest full of really fun noises.”

