Having already spread his solo wings over the last couple of years, The National frontman Matt Berninger has now announced his plans for his first studio album, arriving later in the year.
The new full-length 'Serpentine Prison' was produced by renowned Memphis multi-instrumentalist Booker T. Jones (of Booker T. & The MG’s fame), is being previewed by the record's title-track, and is expected to be released on the 2nd October via his new imprint with Jones, Book Records, in conjunction with Concord Records.
Speaking about his new offering, he said, “The song ‘Serpentine Prison’ was written in December 2018, about a week after recording The National’s 'I Am Easy to Find'. For a long time, I had been writing songs for movies and musicals and other projects where I needed to get inside someone else’s head and convey another person’s feelings. I liked doing that, but I was ready to dig back into my own garbage and this was the first thing that came out.”
“The title is from a twisting sewer pipe that drains into the ocean near LAX. There’s a cage on the pipe to keep people from climbing out to sea. I worked on the song with Sean O’Brien and Harrison Whitford and recorded it about six months later with Booker T. Jones producing. It feels like an epilogue, so I named the record after it and put it last.”
The album also features contributions from a wide array of notable artists, including Matt Barrick (The Walkmen, Jonathan Fire*Eater), Andrew Bird, Mike Brewer, Hayden Desser, Scott Devendorf (The National), Gail Ann Dorsey (David Bowie, Lenny Kravitz), Booker T. Jones, Teddy Jones, Brent Knopf (EL VY, Menomena), Ben Lanz(The National, Beirut), Walter Martin (The Walkmen, Jonathan Fire*Eater), Sean O'Brien, Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan), Kyle Resnick (The National, Beirut), Matt Sheehy (EL VY, Lost Lander) and Harrison Whitford (Phoebe Bridgers). Additional production on the album was provided by Sean O’Brien.
Have a listen to the single 'Serpentine Prison' in the player below.
