Matt Berninger - Serpentine Prison (2020) [Official Digital Download]

As an indie rock fan from Ohio whose young adulthood overlapped with the National’s rise, the band has always been a favorite but never an obsession. I have fond memories of their show supporting Boxer in a shitty underground corporate venue known as The Basement, and of an arena gig opening for Arcade Fire in the wake of High Violet, and probably a half-dozen other concerts and festival sets over the years. Their electric 2010 run through “Afraid Of Everyone” on Letterman is one of my favorite late-night TV performances ever.

But not until I attended their Homecoming festival in 2018 did I become the kind of National Guy who swears their 2010s output stacks up favorably against their 2000s output, who defaults to Sleep Well Beast or the Cherry Tree EP when I’m not sure what else to listen to, who unashamedly embraces my role as a Thirtysomething Dad Who Loves The National and is honestly looking forward to my future as a Fortysomething Dad Who Loves The National. Maybe I had finally aged to the point of getting it on some deeper level, or maybe it was just the nostalgic weight of all those years. But something changed inside me that weekend, watching a lit-up Matt Berninger lead the band through two nights of raw yet sophisticated rock ‘n roll, illuminating old favorites and reminding me of so many classics I’d forgotten along the way. It was like belatedly realizing you’re in love with your best friend. I went all-in.

So you can trust me when I tell you Berninger’s first official solo album is just OK. This is not coming from somebody who slags the National off as boring or swears they peaked a decade ago or thinks all their songs sound the same; I guffaw at those people. It’s coming from a man who put in quite a few hours with 2019’s noble experiment I Am Easy To Find in search of a fleeting connection, who can’t decide whether he’s more enchanted by Berninger’s Phoebe Bridgers duet or his Mercury Rev cover, who could not wait to bask in this guy’s loopy dad melancholia again, with or without the brothers Dessner and Devendorf in tow.

TRACKLIST

1. Matt Berninger - My Eyes Are T-Shirts
2. Matt Berninger - Distant Axis
3. Matt Berninger - One More Second
4. Matt Berninger - Loved So Little
5. Matt Berninger - Silver Springs
6. Matt Berninger - Oh Dearie
7. Matt Berninger - Take Me Out of Town
8. Matt Berninger - Collar Of Your Shirt
9. Matt Berninger - All For Nothing
10. Matt Berninger - Serpentine Prison



Thanks to the Original customer.