The news of EL VY’s existence seemingly came out of nowhere. Brent Knopf—the Portland musician who leads Ramona Falls and has produced bands like Lost Lander and Dear Reader—had apparently teamed up with Matt Berninger, the singer of the National, and recorded an entire album on the sly.
“I didn’t tell hardly anybody,” Knopf says. “I was skeptical that it would ever come to fruition. And maybe I assumed that if it did, it would be an EP or a split 7-inch or something.”
But Return to the Moon, EL VY’s first full-length (out October 30 on 4AD), is a wholly realized project that doesn’t simply combine the sensibilities of both performers. Through their collaboration, Knopf and Berninger have formed a new thing entirely, with an omnivorously intelligent pop sound and a surreal, smoky cool. When the catchy title track premiered online, its buoyancy was enough to get a recommendation from Taylor Swift via social media, but the rest of the album is just as worthy of plaudits—whether it be a nod on Twitter or more thoughtful, involved analysis…