Matt Berninger (The National) clued the world early that the narratives on EL VY’s debut album, Return to The Moon, were still-more autobiographical sketches that didn’t fit in The National context. While we heard snatches in the first two released songs, Return to The Moon and I’m the Man to Be, today’s release gives more credence to Berninger’s claim. Watch below as EL VY (Berninger and Brent Knopf from Menomena/Ramona Falls) perform No Time To Crank The Sun at Studio Brussel.  The song features Knopf’s treacly melody lines and Beethoven-sonata piano-bridges (the contrapuntal “Moonlight” to offset the title’s “Sun”?), and Berninger captures well the harried musician’s life and how easy it is to lose sight of a loved one.  This is our favorite song yet from EL VY and bodes well for the entire album (which you can pre-order HERE).  The song’s lyrics are at bottom.  Aside:  the song’s title is strong evidence that Berninger’s move to Los Angeles has fully taken.  Crank the sun, dude!

No Time To Crank The Sun:

“No time
To crank the sun
And dry our hair
Before we go

No time
To lay around
We’ll come back someday

No time
To change our minds
The pricks are always
On our heels

No time
To fight about it
This time we can’t be late

I was driving
Taking chances
Walking way too far out on
Some broken branches

Sometimes where you’re going
Is hard to see

I always knew there was
Something missing
They said no one could ever get me
To sit and listen

I was always
Trying to leave

Babe it got away from me
It got away from me

No time
To plan our fears
These things they always
Come from nowhere

No time
To lay around
We’ll come back someday

Nothing will ever just
Come to you, it’s only
What you find around and
What you do

If you don’t hold it tight
It’ll leave

I kept seeing you
All around me
I couldn’t just stand here and wait
Until you found me

I had to take you to make you
Believe

Babe it got away from me
It got away from me
It got away from me

It got away from me

If I wasn’t so gone tonight
I’d try to explain
Some people just know what they want
It doesn’t change

If I wasn’t so gone completely
This would feel like pain
Some people just know what they want”