Music Review: The National singer Matt Berninger's 'Get Sunk' can't swim solo. It doesn't need to

Matt Berninger's brooding, droning baritone is hard to abstracted from The National.

His 2nd solo album, “Get Sunk,” doesn't diverge overmuch from the alt-rock set he's fronted for much than a quarter-century. And wherefore should it?

The National's sad-dad marque exists successful the bittersweet spot betwixt Berninger's analyzable lyrics and a melodic versatility. And "Get Sunk” sounds much similar an hold of the band's catalog than a self-serving experimentation for a restless songwriter.

It works connected some levels — with the album's familiar, upbeat electrical guitar-escapes.

But erstwhile compared to his band's repertoire, “Get Sunk” runs retired of steam. Even with his consistently clever lyrics, a mates of lethargic songs tin resistance down a 10-track lineup.

The grounds arrives a fewer years aft a conflict with pandemic-driven depression, arsenic helium elaborate in an interrogation with David Letterman. Berninger was deed by a atrocious lawsuit of writer’s artifact aft his archetypal solo record, “Serpentine Prison,” came retired successful 2020.

The National’s merchandise of 2 caller albums 5 months isolated successful 2023, aft a four-year hiatus, helped thaw immoderate of Berninger's frozen creativity. His household moved from California to Connecticut that year, too, further aiding his reset; helium began speechmaking and coating successful the caller air.

On “Get Sunk," the 3rd track, “Bonnet of Pins,” brings a hard edge, evoking the band's “The System Only Dreams successful Total Darkness” grounds from 2017. “Get Sunk” shaper Sean O'Brien cranks connected the guitar. Drummer Sterling Laws does his champion content of The National stalwart Bryan Devendorf. Julia Laws, whose indie stone set Ronboy has been touring with Berninger, sings backup connected this smoky, stressful brushwood with an ex-lover.

“It’s a cupful instrumentality ammunition game, it’s a puff of smoke/And it gets maine each time, it’s a beauteous bully joke,” Berninger sings. “I cognize that you miss me, I cognize that you miss me/This worldly takes a lifetime.”

With the infectious opener “Inland Ocean” bursting with a reverbed guitar that pulsates passim the song, “Get Sunk” gets revved up close away. Even connected the downbeat “Nowhere Special," Berninger is astatine his songwriting champion ambling done a rant astir an on-again, off-again relationship: “A bat tin haul our signaling instrumentality into the woods/I cognize we shouldn’t but I consciousness similar we should.” The closer, “Times of Difficulty,” is tailor-made for a live-show singalong with the chant “Get drunk! Get sunk! Forget! Get wet!” that marks Berninger's hunt for clarity and creativity.

Much similar The National's 2019 medium “I Am Easy to Find,” which brought successful respective women to brace vocals with his gravelly baritone, “Get Sunk” follows suit. Laws sings connected 8 of the 10 tracks, and Meg Duffy of the set Hand Habits joins Berninger connected the sentimental “Frozen Oranges."

The sleepiness of “Frozen Oranges” is besides the archetypal informing there's conscionable not capable vigor to screen a full album, not rather capable spot for “Get Sunk” to aquatics connected its own. Berninger volition beryllium everlastingly intertwined with The National, a transportation there's nary request to undo.

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