Return to the Moon
EL VY is a low-key collaboration between two high-minded guys: Matt Berninger (of indie-rock pinups The National) and multi-instrumentalist Brent Knopf (of Ramona Falls and the proggy Portland crew Menomena). A moody, funky (and subtly funny) album, *Return to the Moon* charts a serpentine journey through the hazy backyard barbecues and surreal afterparties of Berninger’s recently adopted Los Angeles. “Went to bed and woke up inside another man’s head/Nobody noticed,” Berninger mumbles on the title track—it’s a dry-witted punch line on an album that\'s full of them.
EL VY is the new project from Matt Berninger of the National and Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls and Menomena. Their debut offers a chance to hear Berninger divorced from the context of his main gig, and the results are muddled and confused, unsure of a clear direction to take.
EL VY is the new project from Matt Berninger of the National and Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls and Menomena. Their debut offers a chance to hear Berninger divorced from the context of his main gig, and the results are muddled and confused, unsure of a clear direction to take.
Matt Berninger has been on a decade-long hot streak with his band of (literal) brothers, The National, so it was simultaneously worrisome and exciting when he announced he’d briefly step away and try something new. It turns out that the new something—EL VY—is more of a gentle pivot than a full-on reinvention, and that…
Matt Berninger has been on a decade-long hot streak with his band of (literal) brothers, The National, so it was simultaneously worrisome and exciting when he announced he’d briefly step away and try something new. It turns out that the new something—EL VY—is more of a gentle pivot than a full-on reinvention, and that…
The National's frontman teams up with his old friend, once of Menomena, for an enthralling experimental rock record.
The National's frontman teams up with his old friend, once of Menomena, for an enthralling experimental rock record.
EL VY could have been many things for Matt Berninger but largely just exhibits him doing everything he does so well.
EL VY could have been many things for Matt Berninger but largely just exhibits him doing everything he does so well.
The debut collaboration from The National's Matt Berninger and Menomena's Brent Knopf is too fully-formed to be dismissed as a side project.
The debut collaboration from The National's Matt Berninger and Menomena's Brent Knopf is too fully-formed to be dismissed as a side project.
After a lengthy tour in support of Trouble Will Find Me, The National's Matt Berninger has teamed up with Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls as EL...
After a lengthy tour in support of Trouble Will Find Me, The National's Matt Berninger has teamed up with Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls as EL...
People tend to think of an artist's side-project as having less credibility than his main output vehicle, but that should not be the case for EL VY, a partnership made up of Matt Berninger of The National and Brent Knopf of Menomena and Ramona Falls.
People tend to think of an artist's side-project as having less credibility than his main output vehicle, but that should not be the case for EL VY, a partnership made up of Matt Berninger of The National and Brent Knopf of Menomena and Ramona Falls.
The National singer Matt Berninger’s collaboration album mixes pretty tunes with devastation and dry humour
The National singer Matt Berninger’s collaboration album mixes pretty tunes with devastation and dry humour
The album narrows the scope to Cincinnati and the local music scene that captivated Berninger as an adolescent.
The album narrows the scope to Cincinnati and the local music scene that captivated Berninger as an adolescent.
El Vy New album album 'Return To The Moon' review. EL VY is Matt Berninger from The National, Brent Knopf from Menomena,' the album comes out 10/31 on 4AD.
El Vy New album album 'Return To The Moon' review. EL VY is Matt Berninger from The National, Brent Knopf from Menomena,' the album comes out 10/31 on 4AD.
Matt Berninger and Brent Knopf of the National and Menomena team up for an off-duty experiment in booze-soaked alt-rock
Matt Berninger and Brent Knopf of the National and Menomena team up for an off-duty experiment in booze-soaked alt-rock