Matt Pond PA

Doghouse Records

Matt Pond PA The State Of Gold Originally formed in Philadelphia (hence the PA), Matt Pond PA is a New York band with a unique sound featuring expansive melodies, shiny choruses and poignant string arrangements, all held together with the always-genial voice and reflective prose of the band’s leader, Matt Pond. At once uplifting and heart wrenching, Matt Pond PA songs have a way of reminding the listener to notice the beauty in the things often overlooked, which serves as a kind of metaphor for the band itself. To say that Matt Pond PA have a cult following would be an understatement. While they might not be quite mainstream, they’ve enjoyed features on the musically-revered TV show The OC and a long-running Starbucks commercial. Attend any of their shows and you’ll find troves of fans, many who have followed them for a decade or more. And this year, the band funded their new album, The State of Gold, via an entirely crowd-sourced Pledge campaign that far surpassed its initial goal. Matt Pond PA are band that makes music for the joy of the art, heart that comes through in all ten studio albums to date.The State of Gold is magic number ten, and it finds Matt Pond PA exploring wilder places, both musically and lyrically, than ever before. NPR’s First Listen called Matt Pond an “old-fashioned troubadour above all”, a title he embraces. Pond wrote The State Of Gold in fits of inspiration throughout 2014, following a battle with writer’s block that had him questioning his place in the music world. The new album introduces sleeker production chops and more assertive percussion with synthetic undercurrents that highlight the characteristic simplicity of the songs. However, TSOG is still very much a MPPA album at its core, delving into the space between hope and hopelessness, a place that Matt Pond traverses like no other.