May 07, 2025 Photography by Chantal Anderson
Matt Berninger of The National is releasing a new solo album, Get Sunk, on May 30 via Book, Berninger’s imprint with Concord. Now he has shared its third single, album opener “Inland Ocean.” The song features backing vocals from Ronboy (Julia Laws) and was co-written with The Walkmen’s Walter Martin. Listen below.
Previously Berninger released the album’s first single, “Bonnet of Pins,” which was one of our Songs of the Week. Then Berninger shared its second single, “Breaking Into Acting,” which features Hand Habits (aka Meg Duffy).
Get Sunk is Berninger’s second solo album and follows 2020’s Serpentine Prison. For the new album, Berninger partnered with Grammy Award-winning producer and engineer Sean O’Brien, who co-wrote many of the album’s songs. Get Sunk was recorded in a basement studio in Silverlake, CA. The album features a slew of special guests, including Meg Duffy (Hand Habits), Julia Laws (Ronboy), Kyle Resnick (The National, Beirut), Garret Lang, Sterling Laws, Booker T Jones, Harrison Whitford, Mike Brewer, and The Walkmen’s Walter Martin and Paul Maroon.
A press release says Get Sunk is “not necessarily an autobiographical album, the narrator is processing how he became himself. Berninger is an expert in what it feels like to lose all bravery, and Get Sunk points to an undulating reflection in the water. It’s about realizing that you are not yourself without a thousand others: parents, friends, siblings, spouses and exes, college roommates, childhood best friends, cousins, kids, and even strangers.”
The album was partially inspired by the singer/songwriter’s move to Connecticut after years living in Los Angeles. Once there he enjoyed the flora and fauna of the state and “rearranged dust-covered items in his barn into strange and surreal works of art. It felt good to be creating and to understand why he loves what he does,” as the press release points out.
Berninger adds: “I was able to get the blurry picture as close to just right for me.”
In 2023 The National released two albums, First Two Pages of Frankenstein and Laugh Track.
Matt Berninger Tour Dates:
May 19 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
May 20 – San Francisco, CA – Bimbo’s 365 Club *SOLD OUT
May 21 – Los Angeles, CA – Palace Theatre
May 23 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
May 24 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall *SOLD OUT
May 26 – Toronto, ON – Concert Hall
May 28 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
May 29 – Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre
May 30 – New York, NY – Webster Hall *SOLD OUT
June 1 – Norwalk, CT – District Music Hall
August 22 – Dublin, Ireland – Vicar Street
August 23 – Dublin, Ireland – Vicar Street *SOLD OUT
August 25 – Glasgow, UK – SWG3 Galvanizers
August 26 – Manchester, UK – Albert Hall
August 27 – London, UK – Troxy
August 28-31 – Nr Tolland Royal, Wiltshire, UK – End Of The Road Festival
August 31 – Utrecht, Netherlands – Tivoli Vredenburg *SOLD OUT
September 1 – Antwerp, Belgium – OLT Rivierenhof *SOLD OUT
September 2 – Paris, France – Elysee Montmartre
September 4 – Berlin, Germany – Huxleys
September 5 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Vega
September 6 – Oslo, Norway – Rockefeller Music Hall
September 8 – Hamburg, Germany – Große Freiheit 36
September 9 – Utrecht, Netherlands – Tivoli Vredenburg
September 10 – Antwerp, Belgium – OLT Rivierenhof *SOLD OUT
September 12 – Brussels, Belgium – Cirque Royal
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Feb 28, 2025 Issue #74 – The Protest Issue with Kathleen Hanna and Bartees Strange
