EL VY, the musical collaboration between Matt Berninger (lyricist and vocalist of The National) and Portland musician and producer Brent Knopf (Ramona Falls/Menomena), have presented a second new song ‘I’m The Man To Be’ from their forthcoming debut album, Return To The Moon (out October 30th).

Following in the footsteps of the album’s titular track (full name: ‘Return to the Moon (Political Song for Didi Bloome to Sing, with Crescendo)’) comes the playful and posturing ‘I’m The Man To Be’ – a track that intriguingly causes Brent to muse: “I don’t know if this song will make it easier or harder for EL VY to get a belt sponsorship.”

The accompanying video starring the duo, directed by Tom Berninger and filmed in various locations around Venice Beach and Santa Monica, sets an equally playful and intriguing tone.

 “There’s this great Schoolboy Q song ‘There He Go’ which samples Menomena’s ‘Wet and Rusting’,” Berninger explains. “I thought it would be funny to re-sample the same sample and do it from the perspective of a pathetic self-aggrandizing rocker alone in a hotel room. Something I know a lot about. That’s how it started but then Brent took the sample out and we wrote an entirely new song.”

EL VY (pronounced like a plural of Elvis) and Return To The Moon is a project Berninger and Knopf have been thinking about for years. Their friendship spans nearly a decade, starting back when the National and Menomena played small half-empty clubs along America’s west coast. Feeling an immediate musical kinship, the pair kept in touch, Brent sending Matt occasional rough sketches of music and Matt responding with melodies and lyrics. Finally, in the winter and spring of 2014-115, they actually got together to make an album.

November

02 – PORTLAND, OR, Doug Fir Lounge SOLD OUT

03 – PORTLAND, OR, Doug Fir Lounge SOLD OUT

04 – SEATTLE, WA, Neumos SOLD OUT

06 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA, The Independent SOLD OUT

07 – LOS ANGELES, CA, Troubadour SOLD OUT

08 – LOS ANGELES, CA, Troubadour SOLD OUT

10 – PHILADELPHIA, PA, Union Transfer

11 – WASHINGTON, DC, 9:30 Club

13 – NEW YORK, NY, Bowery Ballroom SOLD OUT

14 – BROOKLYN, NY, Music Hall of Williamsburg SOLD OUT

15 – CAMBRIDGE, MA, The Sinclair SOLD OUT

16 – MONTREAL, QC, Theatre Fairmount

17 – TORONTO, ON, Opera House

19 – CHICAGO, IL, Metro

20 – MILWAUKEE, WI, The Turner

21 – MINNEAPOLIS, MN, First Avenue

December

01 – COPENHAGEN, Pumpehuset SOLD OUT

02 – HAMBURG, Grunspan

03 – AMSTERDAM, Melkweg SOLD OUT

04 – COLOGNE, Kantine

06 – BERLIN, Astra Kulturhaus

07 – BRUSSELS, AB

08 – PARIS, Le Trabendo

09 – LONDON, Electric Ballroom SOLD OUT

10 – LONDON, Electric Ballroom SOLD OUT

12 – MANCHESTER, Gorilla SOLD OUT

13 – DUBLIN, Vicar Street SOLD OUT