EL VY
Return To The Moon
4AD
Fans of feted US indie rockers The National could probably listen to frontman Matt Berninger sing any thing, any time, anywhere. And as the pull of his languid baritone and effortlessly smart lyrics is felt further and further afield, that fan base is increasing exponentially. A seventh album from The National is due soon: work is underway at the moment.
That's the context in which Berninger unveils Return To The Moon, a side-project involving musician Brent Knopf of Portland band Ramona Falls. Berninger, however, prefers to call it “a collaboration”. He also calls it the most autobiographical album he's ever made and if you take the comment at face value then these tales of teenage nights spent dodging bouncers or sitting outside clubs listening to The Smiths are a trawl back through his own coming-of-age stories. Or versions of them, anyway.
Opener Return To The Moon (Political Song For Didi Bloome To Sing, With Crescendo) is the most National-like: elsewhere Berninger's vocals tie together an otherwise disparate bunch of compositions which veer from rackety slices of garage rock (I'm The Man To Be and Happiness, Missouri) to tracks like It's A Game and No Time To Crank The Sun, which are polished and buffed to a glossy sheen by subtle acoustic guitar and keyboard parts.
Barry Didcock
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