The National’s Matt Berninger will be releasing his debut solo album, Serpentine Prison, on October 2nd. Produced by renowned Memphis multi-instrumentalist Booker T. Jones, the LP will be released on Book Records, a new imprint of Concord Records formed by Berninger and Jones.
Berninger has also shared the album’s title track along with a video showing its recording process in the studio. “Don’t try to connect the dots anymore,” Berninger croons over strummed guitar, subdued percussion and a single organ note. “Let ’em go, they’re gonna do it on their own.”
Last month, Berninger collaborated with the Walkmen frontman Walter Martin on a kooky shelter-in-place song, “Quarantine Boogie (Loco).” The duo also worked with Phoebe Bridgers for the recording of “Walking On a String,” which was featured in Zach Galifianakis’ Netflix film Between Two Ferns: The Movie.
With the National, Berninger has launched An Exciting Communal Event, a weekly YouTube Live series that features live shows and other rare or unseen footage from the band every Monday at 5:00 p.m. ET. The project is supporting the band’s road crew relief fund. Additionally, the group created an initiative donating all profits from their webstore and fan club enrollment to their 12 crew employees affected by tour date cancellations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a GoFundMe for the crew.
