The National may be on a hiatus at the moment – after releasing not one but two albums in 2023 and embarking on a truly mammoth world tour – but it seems nobody truly rests in the Brooklyn-based band. Aaron and Bryce Dessner are very in-demand songwriters and producers for a whole host of different bands, while Matt Berninger has decided to dip his toe back into the world of solo projects.
Berninger is no stranger to the side-band project of course. Ten years ago, he formed EL VY with Ramona Falls‘ Brent Knopf, releasing the excellent Return to the Moon (which, so far at least, remains the band’s only record). His debut solo record Serpentine Prison followed almost five years ago, with legendary soul musician Booker T Jones at the production controls.