Several Arrows Later

The dichotomy of brilliant and obscure artists and musicians is that they are either criminally underrated and remain just on but not past the cusp of success or else they are inevitably enveloped in a dizzying shellac of buzz and mainstream hype that invariably destroys their budding careers. "Several Arrows Later" is Matt Ponds latest offering, the fifth album in five years and has not escaped the radar of such mass media outlets as "Rolling Stone's 10 New Bands to Watch" among others. Balancing between full on schmaltzy balladry derived from break-your-heart piano leads and bouncy, driving full-on rock outs, this album is not necessarily diverse, rather Matt Pond manages to harness the best parts of indie-rock into one, beautifully designed package. With hushed and doleful lyrics detailing the various conditions of the broken human heart, "Several Arrows Later" is the audio diary of a sensitive young man who just so happens to be a talented enough musician to avoid maudlin cliches. The real trick will be if Mr. Pond and co will be able to shake off the shackles of being media darlings and "the next big thing". Hopefully they will be able to harness this attention into a well-executed career that will result in another five brilliant albums.

I bought this album after seeing Matt Pond and his band play a fantastic live set. Upon arriving back at my home and listening to the album, I was a little disappointed. This album is good, but doesn't hold the same intensity and energy of their live show. I'm not saying it's a bad record, just don't buy it after seeing the band play live. That said, this is a really good band. I love the fact that there is a cellist. I'm a sucker for strings. Buy this album, learn all the words, and THEN go see them live. I messed up the sequence.

This is a solid album; meaning that each song stands on it's own as a memorable experience. I got caught up in the lyrics pretty fast. They pushed at a well-developed perspective of reasonable and meaningful angst. (Though, there are moments when this perspective can be a put-off.) Lastly, if you dig, say, Death Cab For Cutie or Sun Kil Moon, maybe, then you'll probably dig the sounds of Matt Pond PA.