If you take your music cues from the prime-time melodrama The OC, then I'm sure you've heard of matt pond PA. One of the more recent bands to be engulfed by the teeny-bopper indie eater, matt pond PA released their fifth album, Several Arrows Later, last week.
Since their creation in 1998 by Matt Pond after his move from New England to Philadelphia, the band has seen its share of members with two roster changes since their debut album, Deer Apartments. The current lineup -- formed when Pond relocated from Philadelphia to Brooklyn -- includes eight members, with instruments ranging from the mundane (guitar, bass, drums) to the uncommon and difficult to pronounce (the Wurlitzer). With all of these instruments, as well as a cello and a violin at their disposal, you'd think matt pond PA would create fantastic music. And they have -- for the fifth time in eight years.
Mellow but mature, Several Arrows Later sounds like its predecessors with an indie pop, emo-like sound and soft melodies. Although there are some rock-like songs ("From Debris," "Emblems" and "So Much Trouble") in the vein of quieter Death Cab for Cutie, the entire endeavor comes off as easygoing due in large part to the soothing timbre of Ponds' voice.
For some fans, minor changes in a band's character are appreciated. Other fans enjoy changes in the sound of a band as long as it keeps its roots. Several Arrows Later follows the first philosophy, and the result is low-maintenance listening: There are no songs that cause you to sit up and take notice. You're not just hearing pleasant melodies and comforting rhythms -- you're hearing something fantastic.
"The Moviegoer" comes close to accomplishing this and is decidedly more upbeat and dance-like than other tracks, save the opening piece, "Halloween."
Several Arrows Later does have its high points. The sometimes-monotonous style sends you into a trance-like state, and you're forced to focus on the lyrics. In listening, you discover this fifth release is not only a poetic tour de force but is truly an album for the seasons, a soundtrack to the days of walking under orange-rimmed leaves, wading through snow and gazing at blossom-laden boughs. Lyrics like "I don't think I want to think about it/How the fall is coming down/The light is leaving and it's hard to breathe/Buried in a pile of leaves" from the second track "So Much Trouble" and "The spring provides/ Reminders through your life/When branches scrape your pane" from "Spring Provides," invoke a sense of nostalgia and calm.
The album is sure to reach fans of the group and first-time listeners who are looking for an album with subtle background and lyrical melodies. Those listeners looking for something more than the standard emo strings and guitars will be disappointed but not surprised. Like the seasons of their lyrics, matt pond PA is a band that is slow to change.
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