While you were waiting for a new album from The National, frontman Matt Berninger was busy collaborating with Ramona Falls musician Brent Knopf, creating a new project they’ve dubbed EL VY. Of course, it’s hard to shake the gravity of Berninger’s distinctive croon and the narrative heft of his lyricism, which means that his formative band lingers reminiscently on Return to the Moon. But once you set aside any surface comparisons, the aesthetic vision of EL VY reveals itself. These songs, especially “I’m the Man to Be” and “Need A Friend,” are rawer, the edges jagged and apparent. There is a primal sense to Berninger’s delivery and to Knopf’s instrumentation, which adds a strange and buoyant aura to the music. Hints of Tom Waits and Mark Lanegan appear. There is still introspection and emotional weight, which is often what fans expect from Berninger, but here, the musicians explore the sonic freedom of a new project that exists in an alternate universe than their everyday. Quieter songs like piano ballad “No Time to Crank the Sun” relates to Berninger’s work with The National in a distant way, creating a feeling of emotive ache, but what’s more interesting about EL VY is that they often sound totally new, showcasing previously hidden facets of these musicians’ talents.