Matt Berninger

Matt Berninger earned recognition in the 2000s for his resonant baritone, somber vocal approach, and reflective, well-read songwriting while serving as lead singer of the Brooklyn indie rock outfit the National. The group surfaced near the start of the decade amid a garage rock resurgence featuring acts such as the Strokes, the Walkmen, and the Libertines in the U.K., yet set itself apart through a broader range of inspirations that encompassed alternative country-rock, Americana, and chamber pop alongside post-punk. They fused these elements into an atmospheric, meticulously arranged indie rock style that secured a loyal audience and favorable reviews with early releases, prior to achieving commercial traction via their fourth album, 2007's Boxer. That record signaled a progressive move from some of their earthier roots toward a more sweeping, orchestral palette. With 2010's High Violet the National surged into the Top Three on album charts across several nations and sustained that level of success for the remainder of the decade even as members explored separate endeavors, among them Berninger's new wave-tinged project EL VY. The duo issued its first effort, the Billboard 200-charting Return to the Moon, in 2015. Reassembled with the National, 2017's Sleep Well Beast earned Berninger and his bandmates a Grammy, while in 2020 he unveiled his inaugural solo outing, the introspective Serpentine Prison. Across numerous standalone collaborations Berninger has partnered on tracks with Andrew Bird, Booker T. Jones, Jon Brion, and Julien Baker.

A St. Xavier High School alumnus from Cincinnati, Ohio, Matt Berninger pursued graphic design studies at the University of Cincinnati during the early 1990s and subsequently entered the advertising field. He abandoned that path to focus on music, beginning with the Cincinnati garage punk ensemble Nancy, whose members comprised Berninger, college peer Scott Devendorf, Mike Brewer, Casey Reas, and Jeff Salem. Nancy put out the album Ruther 3429 before dissolving once several participants, including Berninger and Devendorf, moved to Brooklyn, New York.

In that city the two ex-graphic design students teamed with Cincinnati native and Columbia University alumnus Aaron Dessner on guitar and bass plus Scott's sibling Bryan Devendorf on drums, the latter having received instruction from Afghan Whigs drummer Steve Earle. Formed officially in 1999, the National obtained a recurring slot at Manhattan's Luna Lounge and recorded their self-titled debut, issued in 2001 on Brassland Records, the independent imprint established by Aaron Dessner and his twin Bryce, a Yale graduate holding a master's in music. Bryce soon added guitar to the lineup, locking in the configuration that persisted through their ascent to wider acclaim.

Also appearing on Brassland, the band's second album, 2003's Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers, brought them back together with producer Nick Lloyd and retained the debut's refined blend of country-tinged rock and somber chamber pop. The set introduced longtime associate Padma Newsome, who supplied violin, viola, and string arrangements. Two years afterward the quintet delivered Alligator, again incorporating Newsome's strings along with piano and organ contributions from both Newsome and Lloyd, marking their first release on the Beggars Banquet imprint. Their fourth album, Boxer, arrived as a commercial breakthrough in 2007. Expanded with woodwinds, brass, keyboards by Thomas Bartlett (Doveman), and production from the band alongside Peter Katis, it peaked at number 68 on the Billboard 200 while placing higher in territories including the U.K., New Zealand, and Finland. The following year they released The Virginia EP, a compilation of unreleased material, B-sides, demos, and concert recordings. In 2009 Berninger guested on Doveman's The Conformist.

The National moved to 4AD for their fifth studio album, High Violet. Issued in 2010, it built upon Boxer's cinematic scope with returning contributors Newsome and Bartlett plus Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Nadia Sirota, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, and Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry. High Violet reached the Top Three in the U.S., Canada, and several European nations while hitting number five in the U.K. That year Berninger also appeared with Sharon Jones on "Representing Memphis" from Booker T. Jones' The Road from Memphis. The successor, 2013's Trouble Will Find Me, mirrored those chart results and again featured Bartlett, Muhly, Parry, and Stevens among more than a dozen additional musicians; Sharon Van Etten, Nona Marie Invie, and St. Vincent's Annie Clark provided vocals. The album earned a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album.

Also in 2013 Berninger contributed to the second volume of music from the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, performing "I'll See You in My Dreams" alongside Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks. The next year he joined Andrew Bird on "A Lyke Wake Dirge" for the AMC Revolutionary War series Turn and sang the program's theme with the Civil Wars' Joy Williams. He further appeared on the Bird and the Bee's "All Our Endless Love" from the Endless Love soundtrack and on a track from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's Only Run. Documenting a six-hour live rendition of the single song "Sorrow" at MoMA PS1 in May 2013, the National's nine-LP box set Lot of Sorrow arrived in 2015.

Around that period National members explored side projects, among them Bryan Devendorf's avant-indie trio Pfarmers, Bryan and Scott Devendorf's experimental outfit LNZNDRF, and Berninger-led EL VY, a new wave-influenced pairing with multi-instrumentalist Brent Knopf of Menomena and Ramona Falls. Their debut Return to the Moon entered the U.S. album chart at number 66 following its late-2015 release on 4AD. The National subsequently regrouped.

Again produced by the band with assistance from Katis, their third 4AD album and seventh overall, 2017's Sleep Well Beast, extended a trajectory toward broader sonic landscapes. It reached number two in the U.S. and topped charts in Canada, Ireland, and the U.K. During the same span Berninger appeared on Walter Martin's single "Hey Matt" from the Walkmen and on the live track "Learning" captured at Largo with Jon Brion for the 2017 compilation 7-Inches for Planned Parenthood. Sleep Well Beast secured the National a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album in early 2018, after which Boxer: Live in Brussels emerged later that year. Berninger also recorded "All I Want" with Julien Baker and Stephen Altman in 2018 for 7-Inches for Planned Parenthood, Vol. 2, and featured on Chvrches' Love Is Dead. In early 2020 he issued the title track "Serpentine Prison" ahead of his solo debut album that October, followed by the duet "Walking on a String" with Phoebe Bridgers for Between Two Ferns: The Movie.

Concurrently Berninger had been developing covers under guidance from Booker T. Jones. He began forwarding original material to Jones as well and, encouraged by him, amassed sufficient songs for a full album. His Grammy-nominated solo debut Serpentine Prison appeared in October 2020 on the newly formed Book's Records imprint—briefly styled Book Records until Berninger discovered Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey already held that name—in partnership with Concord Records. The set included more than a dozen guests such as Knopf, Andrew Bird, and members of the Walkmen.