Artist: Matt Berninger
Album: Get Sunk
Label: Concord Records
Link: www.concordrecords.com
Style: Pop, Alternative & Indie
Trained as a graphic designer, he also paints and sculpts, but is best known as the singer and lyricist of The National, a band formed in the late 1990s. When Matt Berninger arrived in New York with Scott Devendorf, they had already been friends for several years, but their first band had not been successful. Critics took notice of them as soon as they released their first album with their new line-up, and since their second album in 2003, their fame has continued to grow. This hasn’t stopped the band’s frontman from wanting to produce solo music.
As Matt Berninger is the voice and soul of The National, his second solo album is inevitably reminiscent of the band. We find the same nonchalant, natural class in the phrasing and melodies, which, without seeming to, become catchy and haunting. While the songs’ themes turn to more intimate considerations, openly referring to his period of doubt and artistic decline, this is only to better highlight the beauty of the light that comes after melancholy. In this sense, Get Sunk is an album made to gently accompany us when we want to return to the world.
For the sound engineering and production, the singer with the deep baritone voice has once again placed his trust in Sean O’Brien, who played the same role on The National’s albums. It’s a winning choice, because while the record won’t confuse the band’s fans, it has a lighter side, even though the songs are still extremely polished, with an immediacy that sets them apart. The warm voice glides over the guitars and synthesizer, a saxophone nestles in the gaps, all carried by a haunting rhythm. All you have to do is let yourself be taken by the hand.