EL VY’s new album, “Return to the Moon,” is a project by Matt Berninger of The National and Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls and Menomena. From the start the album differentiates itself from Knopf and Berninger’s other musical works, but it never really shows what that difference is.
Knopf’s keyboard-heavy arrangements, like on the track “I’m The Man To Be,” overpower Berninger’s unique baritone voice. The arrangements along with the various pieces they balance, including heavy background vocals and harsh organ sounds, leave the listener feeling confused, and it seems as if there is something missing. Perhaps Berninger’s unique voice and presence, as felt in The National’s albums, was supposed to fill these gaps, but it doesn’t.
The mediocrity of EL VY’s album is not surprising given the unsuccessful history of musicians forming “side” bands with other musicians while staying in their original group — New Order, for example.
Artists who are still producing music with their original group do not always triumph — such as with Damon Albarn in both Blur and Gorillaz and Lockett Pundt in Deerhunter and Lotus Plaza, it seems either one or both of the projects suffer from the musician’s dual responsibilities. Deerhunter has been steady in their production of sonically cohesive and impressive albums, while Lotus Plaza has produced albums similar in quality to EL VY’s. As for Blur, their new albums certainly have not lived up to the old quality of “13” or “Leisure” as both Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon have been working on side projects.
Berninger and Knopf raise the question of if it's possible for a musician to be in two different bands at once and give adequate attention to both. One cannot answer for sure, but given what has been produced in the past, it is important for artists to consider taking on one project at a time.
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