Matt Berninger – Get Sunk
The songs of The National, even on the band’s earlier records, have largely dealt with grown-up stuff (or, in more than a few cases, adults handling their shit in a not very grown-up way). For his second solo album, though, the band’s lead singer/lyricist, Matt Berninger, is taking a look back at his childhood and early family life, trying to figure out what his two distinct halves (the wounded, introspective lyricist and the wildy emotive frontman of this century’s first great rock band) share. Get Sunk dives (appropriately) into something that’s not so much an origin story as it is the seemingly mundane beginnings of someone who would eventually become a must-see live performer.
Get Sunk begins in, of all places, Indiana. Turns out, Berninger, who hails from Cincinnati, summered on a family farm in the Hoosier State as a child, so the setting does, indeed, inform the songs. The slow build of “Inland Ocean,” with keys from Phil Krohnengold and backing vocals from frequent collaborator Julia Laws (Ronboy), has Berninger revisiting the Midwest – “Flew to Indiana to see a friend/She was already dust by then” – and pining for that easy, long-ago comfort: “Let me stay here, let me please/Wrap me up in your summer sheets.” Berninger dips even deeper into nostalgia in the pensive “Frozen Oranges,” with recollections of lazy Saturdays and quarry swims and images of a fully-grown indie singer indulging in childhood pastimes – “Can I borrow your bike for a while/I need to get some things off my mind/I think I’ll tool around the river ‘til I’m lost.”
It’s telling that the songs on Get Sunk came during a period of immense turmoil for Berninger – COVID inertia, which resulted in a deep depression for the singer, followed shortly thereafter by moving his family from California to Connecticut. The last hints of California (and maybe Berninger’s reason for leaving) can be found in the piano-driven “No Love” – “No one can tell what the difference is/Between spine and fame.” That fakery is even more intense in “Breaking Into Acting,” a pretty acoustic duet with Meg Duffy (Hand Habits) about the depth of lying that can define a lifetime – “Ever since you were a kid you could cry on command/Everybody said it’s a gift, you should use it whenever you can.”
Get Sunk departs from the guitar-y nature of typical National records, but the album’s last track, in particular, recalls the slow-burn of some of the band’s best work while unveiling a bit of optimism Berninger seems to have unearthed in himself. Against an organ line from Booker T Jones (yes, THAT Booker T), “Times of Difficulty” climaxes in group vocals reminiscent of a favorite National show-stopper, “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks,” while the singer recommends a simple (if extremely temporary) broth for what ails you – “Get drunk! Get sunk! Forget! Get wet!” Does it solve anything? Not any more than a cross-country move does, but it might just alter your perspective, not unlike a trip home.
Song I Can’t Wait to Hear Live: The light twang provided by producer Sean O’Brien’s lap steel lends country to Berninger’s weeper – “Only so much you can take of everyday heartbreak.”
Get Sunk was produced, recorded and mixed by Sean O’Brien and mastered by Joe Lambert. All songs written by Matt Berninger, with co-writes going to O’Brien, Walter Martin, Mike Brewer and Paul Maroon. Musicians on the album include Berninger (vocals), O’Brien (electric guitars, acoustic guitars, organ, keyboards, loops, lap steel, piano, vibraphone), Phil Krohnengold (keyboards, organ, piano, group vocals), Garret Lang (bass, bass synth, upright bass, vocals), Julia Laws (lead, backing and group vocals, keyboards), Sterling Laws (drum kit, drum machine, percussion, group vocals), Maxim Ludwig (harmonica, group vocals), Nick Lloyd (piano, keyboards), Kyle Resnick (trumpet, vocals), Meg Duffy (vocals, electric guitar, effects), Booker T Jones (organ, keyboards, backing vocals), Harrison Whitford (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, group vocals), Gabe Noel (koto, viola da gamba), Mike Brewer (group vocals), Jamie Heaslip (group vocals) and Marina Meshkova (group vocals)
Go here to order Get Sunk (out May 30):
https://thecbpstore.com/collections/matt-berninger
Check out tour dates here: https://mattberninger.komi.io/#17325ff6-ef09-44d2-9491-29a70886e971
Enjoy our previous coverage here: REVIEW: The National “Rome”
