Matt Berninger and Brent Knopf of El Vy met while their bands – the National and Menomena respectively – were hauling their instruments across the dingy west coast club circuit. Almost a decade later, they’ve accumulated this collaborative album – an off-duty experiment, a pressure-free hobby, more Broken Bells than McCartney and MJ. Berninger in particular sounds liberated from the weight of his day job: his lyrics flitting from melodramatic (“I think the world’s about to end / I don’t need your love I just need a friend”) to knowing (“I can’t even look at reviews anymore / I score an 8.6 on fucking par 4”). They recreate the recklessness of those touring days via booze-soaked alt-rock and late-night ramblings on Need a Friend; and the dishevelled I’m the Man to Be features a poetic riddle: “I’m peaceful cuz my dick’s in sunlight held up by kites.”
