The project El VY, whose name is uttered as the plural form of Elvis and shares sonic qualities with the phrase "hell pie," emerged in 2015 from the partnership of Matt Berninger, the vocalist and lyricist for The National, alongside Brent Knopf, a multi-instrumentalist and producer associated with both Menomena and Ramona Falls. Having maintained a friendship and periodically shared stages across more than ten years, the pair exchanged musical ideas over an extended period before those exchanges materialized during the initial months of 2015. Issued by 4AD, their inaugural full-length studio effort Return to the Moon merges Berninger's unique brand of wry humor and unconventional storytelling with Knopf's creative approach to production and his wide-ranging compositional skills. Late September saw the release of the album's lead track "Return to the Moon (Political Song for Didi Bloome to Sing, With Crescendo)", and the complete record appeared in the latter part of October.
