Matt Berninger has shared the third single from his upcoming solo album before he heads out on a UK tour.
The National frontman released the contemplative track ‘Inland Ocean’ from his upcoming second solo LP ‘Get Sunk’.
The album is due to be released in full on May 30 before the Ohio born musician tours it around the UK this August.
Following on from his 2020 solo debut ‘Serpentine Prison’, Berninger has already shared two snippets of his new work with fans. ‘Bonnet of Pins’ and the beautiful collaboration with LA-based musician Hand Habits, ‘Breaking Into Action’.
Berninger never had the chance to play his first solo album live due to the Covid pandemic, so five years after it’s release he finally played his first solo gig just last month. Brudenell Social Club in Leeds were treated to two intimate, sold-out performances at the beginning of April.
These gigs were where the ‘About Today’ singer first shared what he has been working on for this upcoming album. Both ‘Breaking Into Action’ and the new single ‘Inland Ocean’ were played at Brudenell, as well as The National classic ‘Gospel’. Check out footage from the sold-out shows below.
Berninger spoke to NME in 2020 about going solo for the first time, saying: “Most of my songs are love songs to myself or that champion me. They’re cheerleading songs for my own soul. I’m writing things that I suspect Carin [his daughter] would like to say to me. You know, ‘I hope my daughter understands me’, ‘My mother will know this is about her’. They’re not just about me; they’re about the people that made me… me.”
After releasing ‘Serpentine Prison’ during Covid, Berninger admitted that he fell into a poor mental state as he struggled to find inspiration during the difficult time.
Opening up in 2023, he told NME: “I was coming out of a long period where I’d just dried up and was in a depression. I just couldn’t write and that triggered a panic of never being able to go back and do this thing. It’s the thing I love to do and I’m better at it than anything else. When I couldn’t do that, it was pretty terrifying.
“I tried to reboot myself physically, mentally and everything. Everything burned down. My brain burned to the ashes and I had to slowly rebuild it up again somehow. It was sobering to realise how fragile I was. Looking back, I was sick as hell.”
Fans of Berninger will be pleased to see him back to his best, as he also recently teased a new “punk rock inspired album” for The National, saying: “The guys send me rock songs all the time, but I can’t fake that. People can hear a fake rock song because it just sounds so pathetic and effortful. I’ve got to actually be in the zone and feeling it.”
For those of you interested in seeing Berninger live, he will play intimate shows throughout the UK this August.
Kicking things off in Dublin on 23 August, he will then head to Glasgow, Manchester and London, before finishing off at the End Of The Road festival in Wiltshire.
Tickets are available here costing about £40 plus booking fees.
