Several Arrows Later

Product Description

SEVERAL ARROWS LATER represent the most immediate and rocking expression of matt pond PA’s music yet. His lyrics push through the confusion of city life (a smaller sky, throttling expectations and terrible parties) and the comfort of country life (the familiar, the green and the seasons), both asking and telling US why we act the way we do. But it’s not a call to action; it’s a plea against apathy. Musically, it shines away from the redundancy of present day rock posturing yet remains totally immediate, relevant and ridiculously catchy.

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Because Matt Pond’s contemplative cover of Oasis’ “Champagne Supernova” made for perfect background music on The O.C., he now finds his band compared to the likes of Death Cab For Cutie and the Shins. While Several Arrows Later confirms there is a shared appreciation for gentle jangle pop melodies and confessional lyrics, there’s something darker here that sets the Brooklyn quartet out from the rest of the teen drama pack. The singer’s voice, for one, has the kind of weathered quality that only comes with years of despair, especially when calmly delivering a line like, “I might smash up all these windows and set fire to the curtains.” Then there is the music–exuberant and alive, yes, but also strapped to a gray cloud that prevents it from ever sounding truly unhinged in deep, meaningful treatises like “Is It Safe” and anguished late night ballads such as “City Song.” –Aidin Vaziri