I love the National. I've been listening to them all morning, but I can't for the life of me work out WHY they are good. Consider the evidence:

-songs are all mid-tempo
-vocal delivery that often verges on mumbling
-guitar/bass/drum/piano instrumentation that follows the Coldplay template
-very little musical innovation

So WHY do we all love them? I mean, I do, I can't stop listnening to them, but there are so many other bands that have a similar sound and I can't stand them. What makes the National special?