| Matt Pond PA - Last Light |
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| Written by Rob van Alstyne | |
| Wednesday, October 3, 2007 at 02:56 PM | |
 Matt Pond PALast Light www.mattpondpa.com www.myspace.com/mattpondpa The transformation of Matt Pond PA from a lush chamber pop group to a razor sharp pop-rock combo was so gradual and seamless, occurring as it did over the course of a whopping seven albums and five EPs in just nine years, that I almost didn’t notice it. Through the miracle that is my iPod library's alphabetization system, however, I recently went back and listened to Measure, the group’s string-drenched sophomore album from 2000, right after finishing a spin of the group’s latest, Last Light, and the shift in sound was starkly apparent. Pond’s way with a tremulous and sweeping vocal melody was still there, as was his consistently engaging but a little bit too vague lyricism, but pretty much everything else was different (including all of the band members not named Matt Pond). I was struck by how central the orchestral passages of Pond’s songs were on Measure, how rarely the group implemented electric guitars, how much slower the tempos were. Switching back again to Last Light’s opening title track was like listening to a veritable speed-fueled guitarmageddon by comparison: Multiple axes clamored for the spotlight and the strings were completely excised in favor of a bevy of warm synths. At times on Last Light (“Basement Parties,” “The Crush”) the group almost sounds like a brash garage band—albeit one with nary a note out of place and a knack for ear-tickling piano fills. The louder, faster, Matt Pond PA isn’t the only incarnation on display in Last Light, however, as Pond also tries his hand at some winsome torch songs (“Taught to Look Away”) and acoustic balladry (“It’s Not So Bad at All”), plus the mild-mannered, immaculately rendered mid-tempo pop that has long been his bread and butter (“Honestly”). In Pond’s best moments as a lyricist, his anxiety-riddled sketches hit their target (“Do you think that we could try forgetting / The places we've gone with the ceiling spinning / Slow down until we stop / We have to steal this night back”) while elsewhere melting into inert nothingness (“There’s nothing to hold / It’s all letting go”). The proceedings are polished to a nice sheen and depending on how you feel about pop this easily digestible, the band either plays it a little too safe or has a refreshing sense of professionalism (I’ll opt for the latter). As Pond moves toward the decade mark on his musical journey, one thing is for certain: He remains a seemingly endless fountain of immediately palatable melodies and the envy of any musician who has ever struggled with writer’s block. COMING UP: Matt Pond PA with opening act Jesca Hoop on Monday, October 8, at the Varsity Theater . 8 p.m. 18+. $12-14. |
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| Last Updated: Friday, October 5, 2007 at 01:00 AM |
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