The title of Matt Berninger’s second solo album, Get Sunk, describes a feeling the National singer had about being stuck in a creative rut. His latest 10-song collection navigates the cloudy waters of self discovery. It’s the sound of him seeking answers to how he became the artist and person he is today. Like his 2021 solo debut, Serpentine Prison, Get Sunk is subdued, but it keeps a more active pace. Whereas Serpentine Prison’s melancholy lingered over the album, Get Sunk feels like it moves towards revelation, if not resolution. And often, Berninger is moving alone, or trying to, anyway.

If there’s one key realization for Berninger on Get Sunk, it’s that everyone and every place he’s encountered in the past has shaped him. On the acoustic “Breaking Into Acting,” he and Hand Habits’ Meg Duffy sing in wonderful harmony, never overshadowing or stepping over each other. He almost sounds critical when he sings, “It’s a scam / … You’ll do anything to be discovered” here. And on “Bonnet of Pins,” he notes that it “Takes a lot to really disappear” before the song blooms with grand horns and open-air guitars. He goes on to detail a run-in with a familiar face, someone who feels close and comfortable enough with him to finish off his drink. “Never thought I’d see her here / Never thought I’d see her again,” he confesses. On this album highlight, Berninger demonstrates what he does best: animate vivid scenes with his words.

That’s where “No Love” stumbles. The slow-building song is splendid in its piano line that laps up with increasing intensity like a restless tide and Berninger singing his signature baritone. But when he sings “The music’s so unromantic,” “The vibes aren’t right,” and “The energy’s so strange,” the lines fall flat, leaving one wondering, “How so?” They’re the same platitudes that bogged down Serpentine Prison. Speaking of Berninger’s voice, he mumbles his way through “Nowhere Special.” He’s likely going for lost and rambling narrator (he does sing, “I’ve got nowhere to be”), but this choice feels out of place on such an otherwise lush and elegant album.

The sort of self-discovery Berninger embarks on on Get Sunk is can be a conflicting process. Despite wanting to disappear, on “Inland Ocean,” he laments that “Everything ends before I want it to / I needed more time alone with you / Isn’t there anything I can do?” as this song’s keys, dappled with electronic swirls, undulates like a wave. Elegant and gentle also describe the rest of Get Sunk. Hear the mournful combo of piano andhorns on “Silver Jeep,” featuring guest vocalist Julia Laws, aka, Ronboy. The acoustic shaker- accented piano song “Little By Little” moves with grace. “Junk” is subtly ornate. Its acoustic finger-picked melody and hints of harp and what sounds like a flute or clarinet bely his subservient self-deprecation: “You can have me baby / Do what you want / Take me all apart / I’m only junk.” “Times of Difficulty” savours every moment, ambling along until the acoustic guitar song reaches a brief but grand organ crescendo. Despite moments like this, and Berninger’s grander emotions, Get Sunk never feels overwrought. It’s a fine balance, and therein lies the album’s beauty.

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