Matt Pond PA

Matt Pond PA comes to the Rock and Roll Hotel on Wednesday, October 14.

They are currently touring in support of their 10th full-length album, The State of Gold.

Listening to parts of their new album is my first real exposure to their work, which has been prolific. Sampling more of their music, it at times sounds like a dash of country (“Red Ankles”), a touch of Tom Petty (“Let Me Live”), a bit of folk (“Hearts and Minds”) and pieces of pop (“Take Me With You”).

“Take Me With You”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rclldxzn6Wo]

Formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1998, one can assume the “PA” addendum is a nod to their hometown.

Matt Pond, the lead singer and titular member, is the only member from the beginning. Other members include Chris Hansen and a rotating crop of musicians.

NPR says: “Pond is an old-fashioned troubadour above all – a “sleepless dreamer”. His songs, held aloft by his genially emotional voice, are humble and introspective, even when they’re aloof. But the band’s music has always moved with subtle self-assurance that belies the often-glum questing of Pond’s lyrics: the gloomy rockers of 2007’s Last Light, the plainspoken groove of 2013’s The Lives Inside The Lines In Your Hand. On The State Of Gold, which Pond wrote in fits of inspiration throughout 2014, this manifests in sleek production values and assertive percussion, a synthetic undercurrent that highlights the songs’ elegant simplicity rather than undermining it.”

Tickets are available here.

Since Halloween is almost upon us:

“Halloween”
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Matt Pond PA
w/ Laura Stevenson and Completions
Rock and Roll Hotel
Wednesday, October 14
Doors @ 7:00pm (Show 7:30pm)
$16
All ages