'Several Arrows Later' appeals to variety of ages
By Jeff Renfro
"Several Arrows Later," the debut album from Matt Pond PA, offers a mature response to the whiny, emo rock that dominates the rock charts today. Maintaining a sense of levity and fun, the album is pop music at its finest, featuring simple but alluring melodies that draw listeners in. They convey a reserved sadness that is capable of creating emotional highs as well as somber lows.
The band comes from the East Coast and is made up of veterans of New Hampshire's little publicized music scene. Despite beginning in relative obscurity, Matt Pond PA has managed to create a buzz with their debut. They were recently featured as one of Rolling Stone Magazine's "Ten Bands to Watch."
With this album, Matt Pond PA has achieved what several former emo bands have attempted in past years. For bands that perform songs dealing with "high school" themes, there is a tension that exists when they attempt to grow up. At some point, a band becomes too old to talk about secret crushes. On 2002's "On a Wire," The Get Up Kids were trying to make "Several Arrows Later," an album that deals with the lives of people in their early '20s that maintains a sense of optimism.
"Several Arrows Later" opens with a great one-two punch with "Halloween" and "So Much Trouble." The songs compliment each other. "Halloween" features sparse instrumentation over a simple electronic beat. The track does not vary much, but is short and ends before it gets boring. "So Much Trouble" follows with a sped-up tempo and a jangling guitar that disturbs the monotony of the previous song. The singer delivers the lyrics in a hushed tone that never overpowers the songs, but has a quality which makes it stand out.
The album's strongest track is the violin-aided "From Debris." It is the fastest track on the record and conveys a sense of urgency that is sometimes missing from other songs. Every instrument, including the vocals, pushes the song forward, as if each member is racing to get to the end before the others do, demanding repeated listens.
Although "Several Arrows Later" does not have a song that sticks out as awful, the end can become monotonous. The first two thirds of the record is so good that once the ending comes, it sounds sluggish in comparison. The end is not bad, but it is easily overlooked. The album's strongest tracks provide a nice climax, but Matt Pond PA needs to find a better way to slow down the pace at the end of their album, without losing the aspects of their song writing which make them interesting.
Matt Pond PA has created a record that can be listened to and enjoyed at any stage in life. It does not become obsolete at the first sight of the real world. With the nuance that the band brings to their song writing, they will always be relevant and compelling.
Grade: B
Contact Jeff Renfro at (408) 551-1918 or jrenfro@scu.edu.