During the warm months, Matt Berninger—the National’s frontman—unveiled a solo track with a strikingly playful title, “Martini Me Fatso.” While it surfaced in the wake of last year’s excellent Get Sunk and seemed to sit outside the typical album cycle, it has since come to light as part of a fresh EP that could serve as the culmination of this era. Released without fanfare, Type It Up collects “Martini Me Fatso,” the new originals “Type It Up” and “Ask For Water,” and the previously issued covers of New Order’s “Blue Monday” and the Velvet Underground’s “Who Loves The Sun.”
Here’s Berninger with the backstory:
These songs emerged from the momentum and energy of the Get Sunk tour. I kept revising lyrics and song forms night after night, and we were getting real-time feedback from audiences and social media comments. On the track “Type It Up” (originally titled “Black Letter Font”), listeners misheard the lyric, “That would look good in a black letter font” as “I would look good in a black leather thong,” so I decided to swap the chorus. I’m more of a black linen suit guy.
Stream Type It Up below, where you’ll also find a video for “Ask For Water,” which features a lyric about eating stickers off apples.
Type It Up is available digitally now and will arrive on physical formats on 12/4 via Concord. The vinyl edition will include an extra acoustic version of “Martini Me Fatso.” You can order it here.
