Matt Berninger's commanding baritone is probably one of the most distinctive voices in rock over the last twenty years; through his main gig with The National, whose eight records and counting have garnered a swell of fan and critic support, he's achieved elder statesman status with a discography that one can put up there with any modern band. So as to say, he's yet to release an embarrassing batch of songs; the worst thing you can say is that an album or two have been underwhelming (or, put another way, not up to the lofty standards brought forth by his best work). After twenty years with The National, the prospect of a Matt Berninger solo record was intriguing to me, since the only work he's done outside of The National that I'd familiarized myself with was EL VY, the side project launched in 2014 with Menomena's Brent Knopf; their lone record, Return to the Moon , found Berninger brazenly forging into the playful and humorous. Coming from a singer known for...
SOMEHOW STILL A THING