Matt Berninger

Matt Berninger – Serpentine Prison (Deluxe Edition) (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:04:15 minutes | 697 MB | Genre: Soft Rock, Folk
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Concord Records

Matt Berninger of The National released his debut solo album, Serpentine Prison, last October via Book, Berninger’s new imprint with Concord. Now he has announced a new deluxe edition of the album that includes six bonus tracks (four covers and two originals) and shared one of those extra tracks, “Let It Be,” which is an original song and not a Beatles cover. The covers will be of songs by Eddie Floyd, Morphine, Bettye Swan, and The Velvet Underground. The deluxe edition is due out digitally March 12. Listen to “Let It Be” below, via a lyric video for the song.

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Matt Berninger – Serpentine Prison (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 41:37 minutes | 445 MB | Genre: Soft Rock, Folk
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Concord Records

A band is like a couple, the secret to a long-lasting relationship is to how to reserve time for yourself. Such is the case with American band The National who have been together for 20 years. Here, their singer, Matt Berninger, has undergone his first project outside the band, but he is not alone. Tens of musicians have participated in Serpentine Prison including Gail Ann Dorsey (Bowie’s loyal former bassist among others), Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson’s lucky harmonicist), Andrew Bird, as well as even three members of The National. The album is produced by the legendary Booker T. Jones, who also contributes on the keys. This star-studded line-up have created a modest work in contrast to the blockbuster album you might expect. Less rock-oriented than with The National, Berninger toes the line between acoustic and the genre the Americans and Brits would refer to as “singer-songwriter”, a strain of folk and country where the lyrics are as important as the music itself. With its American style, the album sounds like the soundtrack to a night-time road trip with moments of ecstasy, reverie and even weariness. With his deep vocals and elegantly minimalistic accompaniments (piano, guitars, light brass sections), Matt Berninger confidently blends traces of crooners like Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen. Pleasantly produced, Serpentine Prison plunges the listener into the delights of a dreamy autumn scene. A trip into the depths America that only music can make reachable. – Stéphane Deschamps

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