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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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Matt Pond PA: Cryptic Stunners
Wednesday 21 July @ 16:58:32 |
 by Rob van Alstyne
Emblems, the fifth album from Matt Pond PA, sounds like the conscious effort of a band trying to re-invent itself. The past staples of the group’s sound, sweeping orchestral passages and innumerable guest players, have melted away, replaced with a tightly rockin’ new-wave inflected approach. Clearly, Matt Pond (vocals/guitar) had a plan to overhaul his band’s sound — and it worked. Or … maybe it was all just an accident.
“It’s funny because half of the sound of the record is really just the way things worked out. I didn’t really have any control over the practical issues of who showed up when and how things worked out, but I think that’s how it always is. The record kind of found its own momentum. We definitely put [the string sections] in more specific places than we ever wanted to, but also that was because I was the most separated from other people playing on the record than I’ve ever been [Pond had moved to New York City while other core members of the group remained in Philadelphia].”
 Although it may have been born more out of pragmatism and schedule complications than artistic intent, the newly pared-down Matt Pond sound works wonders on Emblems. With the focus more squarely placed upon his voice and playing, Pond doesn’t disappoint, turning in a set of stirring vocal yearning (still dooming him to the Cure comparisons he loathes), and coming up with enough solid guitar hooks that the lack of strings is hardly noticeable. That being said, the interesting orchestral textures that made past efforts like 2000’s Measure worth treasuring are even more effective in their occasional cameo moments on Emblems, with longtime member Eve Miller’s cello gaining added power by virtue of its more economic employment. Other backing instruments also make their way into the mix effectively (there’s some mighty tasty pedal steel on more than a few tracks).
With most of the songs still focused around cryptic tales of past accidents and regrets, Pond continues to refine his powerfully vague lyricism, spinning tales whose emotions are clear even when the settings or characters are not.
“You would have to be crazy, especially after a few records, not to be conscious of your lyrics,” claims Pond. “I wish I were, but I’ve never been able to be like a Bob Dylan or a Bruce Springsteen kind of person, people who can tell a whole story in a song. In my songs I try to draw out ridiculous things from myself, and usually they’re just little fragments. They’re several pieces of a larger idea. I’d have to lie to tell a specific story and if I did it would probably be pretty boring or pathetic in the end. A lot of the times the songs are made up of several instances that sort of add up to the message of, ‘oh shit I’m not going to do that anymore.’ I’m finding that I’m putting a lot more energy and time into lyrics before I let them fly, because it is what sticks out in a lot of ways, and I definitely have things that I want to convey.”
The album’s centerpiece is “New Hampshire.” A reflection on Pond’s place of birth, the shimmering ballad shifts gears repeatedly sketching disturbing outlines of small town lives, appearing to touch on abortions (“But down here I believe / that I made a big deal with a girl who can’t bleed / now I see red and black / and evening that kills I want to take it back”) and crumbling marriages (“This probably won’t work out / we might not live forever / while there’s nothing to confess / please pay attention”).
Although now a city dweller, Pond is quick to acknowledge the influence his youth in New Hampshire continues to have on his art.
“I grew up in the country with a very specific system of thinking,” admits Pond, “and then when I got older and moved to a city every part of that system had to be replaced with new ideas. It was that contrast that for me really had me start writing music. When I moved to Philadelphia I realized that everything I believed about outward behavior was completely incorrect. It was just shocking and that’s always kind of going to feed into my songwriting, although I don’t want to fall back on it as a crutch. I wouldn’t be able to write songs without having had that experience.”
Settling into a consistent groove many musicians would envy (Emblems is the fifth Matt Pond long-player in six years in addition to two EP’s), Pond appears ready to make the band a life-long endeavor, although his career trajectory was once far different. “I was supposed to be a history professor. What the hell happened?” questions pond jokingly.
“I’m pretty focused in and settled down, I’m just going to keep doing music. I’m happy because the band isn’t attached to any genre thing. I don’t care what fades and what comes up as far as trends go. We just go forward. We’re not the Shins, but we exist on our own plane and on our own level.”
Matt Pond PA recently released Emblems on Altitude records. They are currently anouncing national tourdates that begin on July 30.
You can find out more about Matt Pond PA on their official website.
Download an mp3 of Matt Pond PA’s song “Composition.”
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