On the record: Matt Berninger – Serpentine Prison
A solo album by the frontman of a “grown-up band” has the potential to be downright dull. Taking the rock band away from Berninger’s poetic verses could have led to a one-paced album, downgraded to mere backing music for dinner parties. Thankfully, this is not that. Booker T. Jones’ instrumentation deserves to be heard, and Matt Berninger’s voice demands to be listened to.
Berninger’s baritone voice has never sounded warmer. It makes the album an intimate listen. It rarely reaches for bombast and, for National fans, sits neatly alongside tracks like About Today off their Cherry Tree EP from 2004. The them of insecurity crops up on a number of tracks.
Booker T. Jones handled production and a lot of instrumentation on the album. Loved So Little shows his fingerprints most of all. The track carries hallmarks of the blues, especially the harmonica and violin dancing around each other on the outro to the song. Aside from the bluesier aspects of the album, the record is packed with delicate musicianship. Jones doesn’t crowd the vocals, Berninger’s late-night ruminations shine through.
The Cincinnati native’s lyrics are always heartfelt, occasionally tortured. On this record, the words can be downright devastating. On One More Second Berninger eschews metaphor entirely, singing:
The last time we were together
Lately, it feels like forever
And the way we talked last night
It felt like a different kind of fight
The track is the highlight of the album, a window into the melancholy musings of someone whose relationship is collapsing around them.
On Collar of Your Shirt, insecurity is again at the fore, perhaps the same person from One More Second, imagining losing his partner. Berninger somehow manages to sing a line as earnest as “I’m so afraid your love is leaving me”, without it ever getting close to being corny. It’s in equal parts down to the quality of his voice and how he delivers the line, understated and a little helpless.
All For Nothing is the one track which edges closest to Berninger’s day job. The forlorn horns building through the song in a way familiar to anyone who has attended a National gig. It’s a welcome moment on the album, and Berningner singing “It’s all for nothing” repeatedly is moving.
Beyond Jones, there is a fine cast supporting Berninger. Gail Ann Dorsey, who performed as part of David Bowie’s touring band, appears with Berninger on Silver Springs. Other guests on the album read like a Pitchfork dream. Andrew Bird throws in some backing vocals and violin work (including the plucked violin flourishes towards the end of Collar of Your Shirt), fellow National bandmate Scott Devendorf plays bass on tracks and Walter Martin of the (frustratingly) on hiatus Walkmen playing across several instruments on several tracks.
Serpentine Prison is a totally different proposition to his last effort outside The National, a tie up with Meonomena’s Brent Knopf, under the monicker El Vy. It’s similar to his work with the National, but different enough to mark it as his individual sound.