Matt Pond PA - Still Summer (2017)

Although originally formed as a chamber pop quintet, matt pond PA went through several different lineups throughout its existence, with each incarnation revolving around the talents of singer/songwriter Matt Pond (previously of Mel's Rockpile). Pond formed the group upon relocating from New England to Philadelphia, and he filled out his first lineup with guitarist/bassist Josh Kramer, cellist Jim Hostetter, violinist Rosie McNamara-Jones, and drummer Sean Byrne. The band debuted in 1998 with Deer Apartments and won top honors in an unsigned bands competition sponsored by online retailer CDNOW. A sophomore effort, Measure, followed in 2000 and garnered comparisons to a stripped-down version of the Cure, while the I Thought You Were Sleeping EP appeared in spring 2001. By the next year, the band shifted its roster to include drummer Mike Kennedy, bassist Matt Raisch, guitarist Jim Kehoe, and cellist Eve Miller, alongside Pond and Hostetter. A third album (and the band's first release for the Polyvinyl label), The Green Fury, was released in spring 2002 while Pond also took on duties writing music for the Oxygen Network. The Nature of Maps followed several months later, marking the band's third release in two years.

In 2003, Pond relocated to Brooklyn and began piecing together the strongest lineup of matt pond PA since its inception. Brian Pearl (guitars/piano), Dan Crowell (drums), and Daniel Mitha (bass) joined Pond for the recording of Emblems, which was released on Altitude in May 2004. Concerts with Keane and Ted Leo & the Pharmacists followed through the end of the year. Prior to releasing their fifth full-length album, the band issued a seasonal EP, Winter Songs, in January 2005. Several Arrows Later followed in October, marking the debut of cellist Dana Feder. Tour dates with Liz Phair and Guster also coincided with its release. In early 2006, Mitha departed matt pond PA and was replaced by Steve Jewett. A limited-run EP, If You Want Blood, was released the following summer, and the band returned with a new full-length album, Last Light, in September 2007.

For his next album, Pond holed himself up in a cabin outside of Bearsville, New York, with producer Chris Hansen and several guest musicians. The result, The Dark Leaves, was released in 2010, and additional material from those cabin sessions found its way onto several EPs, including the digital release Auri Sacra Fames. After fronting the band he shared a name with for over a decade, Pond dropped the "PA" from matt pond PA in late 2012. Working again with collaborator Chris Hansen, Pond recorded the first album to be issued under his own name, The Lives Inside the Lines in Your Hand, released in early 2013. The band took to the road shortly afterwards, performing a ten-year anniversary tour in support of the album Emblems, playing the album in its entirety. Coinciding with the tour, the band successfully appealed for funding for their next album, and The State of Gold was released in 2015 with the PA added back into the band name. That album's robust, shimmering pop production was scaled back somewhat on their 2016 follow-up, Winter Lives, which included a few more acoustic-oriented offerings. In 2017, after nearly two decades operating as an ensemble, matt pond PA released Still Summer, declaring it would be their last album together. ~ Jason Ankeny

All year round, it’s still summer. And indie rocker Matt Pond’s adventure continues. The brakes are shot, the pickup truck is rusted through and overheating. Everyone is out of their minds.

Matt Pond is not outspoken, but he loves to speak and to be spoken to. To dive into the frigid water of understanding and trust the depth. To write songs that make sense of ridiculous daily dissonance, beautifully failed relationships, of the brilliant miscalculations in an easy whisper. It’s that simple: It was all for the experience; it was all for the ride.

At around ninety-five miles an hour, the steering wheel will start to uncontrollably shake in most high-mileage, fifteen-passenger vans. At the same speed and in the same state of mind, it’s nearly impossible to navigate the murky world of music. Since its inception in Philadelphia in 1998, Matt Pond PA has traveled a road of perpetual transformation, a shifting cast of copilots and collaborators defining the band’s every season.

On August 11, 2017, matt pond PA will release Still Summer, their twelfth full-length album and the second Pond is releasing under his independent label, 131 Records. “It’s not about reliving the past,” says Pond. “It’s about allowing the present to breathe. It’s about holding hands with ghosts and then letting go.”

On this album Pond features the likes of Laura Stevenson, Laura Burhenn, Caroline Reese and Anya Marina. And of course there’s the copilots, Chris Hansen, Shawn Alpay, Mel Guerison and Kyle Kelly-Yahner, right there with him.


Track List:
01. A Spark
02. Street Squirrels
03. The Ballad Of Laura And Mike (Feat. Laura Stevenson)
04. Legends After The Fall
05. Still Summer
06. Rabbit
07. The Backyard
08. Canada (Feat. Mel Guerison)
09. Legends Before The Fall
10. The Full Stop (Feat. Caroline Reese)
11. Union Square
12. Back To The Future (Feat. Anya Marina)
13. Last Breath (Feat. Laura Burhenn)
14. Saint Catherine’s Creek (Kc Three)