EL VY – Return To The Moon

Return To The Moon is the debut album of EL VY, a collaboration project between Matt Berninger of The National and Brent Knopf of Menomena and his solo project Ramona Falls. Together as EL VY, they make up an album with both strong musical content, especially in terms of the excellent guitar riffs and lyrical content that is catchy but still holds meaning, sung by Berninger’s baritone vocals.

“Return To The Moon (Political Song for Didi Bloome to Sing, with Crescendo),” the title and opening track, starts off the album as upbeat and a little light hearted. With its throwback disco beats, it makes for cute, groovy love song. This, though, is one of the few times any of the songs off of Return To The Moon has that kind of sound. “I’m the Man to Be” follows next with its slightly creepy-sounding intro and with more emphasis on the bass, it comes off more as a rock tune. The lyrics become a little bit darker, maybe even a little more aggressive, and “I’m the Man to Be” turns into a good opposition the title tracks. “Paul is Alive” and “Need a Friend” turn to a more mellow side and the lyrics get a little wistful and sad at times, especially with “Need a Friend.” Knopf’s guitar and drum skills really come through on these two tracks. An interesting, but right sounding mix of southern rock and a synthesizer shows up in “Happiness, Missouri.”

Berninger and Knopf’s collaboration has come together pretty well for this debut album. EL VY has shown that they have both depth in their lyrical content, by creating lyrics that can really make connections, and range in their musical talent, which shows that they can play well within the vague definition of “alternative music.” Return To The Moon sounds like EL VY will be making something interesting soon.