Photo: Emma Viola Lilja
Good news for fans of The National - the band are well underway with progress on their new album.
While frontman Matt Berninger is preparing to release the debut album and tour with new side project EL VY, he has also been working with the NYC indie legends on the follow-up to 2013's incredible Trouble Will Find Me.
“We did a camp out retreat in New York a couple of months ago, and we’re having another one in LA in a few weeks," he told NME. "We have 30 sketches of songs so far.”
He also added that songs were being named after various towns in upstate New York.
Last year for an up update on the new National album, Berninger told Gigwise that they'd be 'changing their approach'.
"We're talking about getting together, which won't be until about October, taking a little break and then getting together to try and write together in a room - which we've never done," Berninger told Gigwise. "We always work on little things and email back and forth. We have no idea whether it's going to work or not, but that's as far as we've got with the new record: trying to work out a plan and a different approach.
"That might fail miserably, but then we'll try it a different way."
When asked if the band had any idea or hopes on what their next record could sound like, Berninger said: "No, not really. Everybody's been talking about it and people have different ideas about what kind of record they want to make. But every time we all talk about that, it never helps anyone figure it out. It's never a very good creative catalyst to say 'I'm going to make this kind of record'. It's never been that helpful for me at least, let's just wait to see where things go organically and naturally."
Listen to the first release from El VY, 'Return to the Moon' below
EL VY release their debut album Return To The Moon on 30 October, before a full European tour. For tickets and more information see here.
December
01 – COPENHAGEN, Pumpehuse
02 – HAMBURG, Knust
03 – AMSTERDAM, Melkweg
04 – COLOGNE, Kantine
06 – BERLIN, Astra
07 – BRUSSELS, AB
08 – PARIS, Trabendo
10 – LONDON, Electric Ballroom
12 – MANCHESTER, Gorilla
13 – DUBLIN, Whelans
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