El Vy:
Return To The Moon:
4AD:
CD/LP/DD:
Out Now:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
After issuing a handful of earthy emotive albums with his band The National, baritone songwriter Matt Berninger has seen fit to jolly things up a little under the moniker EL VY. It's a simple enough concept with former Menomena musician Brent Knopf helping the duo steer a positive course through lively funk-pop and sprightly seasoned blues-rock. There's still plenty of glumness on here but the feel is lighter and the mood is brighter as a rule.
Recent single Return to the Moon has the David Byrnes about it - jangly hooklines and discofied rhythms combine with Berninger's trademark tonsils that still sound like they've just woken up two hours after the rest of his body. Similar themes permeate Need a Friend and Happiness, Missouri while the slower explorations such as I'm The Man To Be and No Time To Crank The Sun trawl the usual emotional recesses and colourful melodic motifs you'd expect from the pair.
That glumness I mentioned rears its head on the rather pretty closing track Careless in which Berninger opines "be careless with me, I don't know what you want from me..." etc etc. Well you could do worse than invest in this understated but enjoyable album that might scrape into a few year-end playlists for its trouble.
Return To The Moon:
4AD:
CD/LP/DD:
Out Now:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Recent single Return to the Moon has the David Byrnes about it - jangly hooklines and discofied rhythms combine with Berninger's trademark tonsils that still sound like they've just woken up two hours after the rest of his body. Similar themes permeate Need a Friend and Happiness, Missouri while the slower explorations such as I'm The Man To Be and No Time To Crank The Sun trawl the usual emotional recesses and colourful melodic motifs you'd expect from the pair.
That glumness I mentioned rears its head on the rather pretty closing track Careless in which Berninger opines "be careless with me, I don't know what you want from me..." etc etc. Well you could do worse than invest in this understated but enjoyable album that might scrape into a few year-end playlists for its trouble.