Last Light

AMG Review of Last Light

Andrew Leahey
All Music Guide

"Night comes in and takes our light as we turn once again in the sun; we don't have to drift out of sight, as the shadows will fall and run." From the first lyric forward, matt pond PA's Last Light is firmly focused on twilight, that hazy period where scattered sunbeams separate night from day and dark from light. Perhaps the prolific Matt Pond has come to a crossroads of sorts, having spent the decade peppering his audience with almost as many releases as fellow indie icon Ryan Adams (who, like Pond, also works with a revolving cast of bandmates). Is this Pond's artistic twilight? Is he preparing for musical hibernation? Such questions are certainly warranted -- if anyone deserves a break, it's the songwriter who has issued ten albums/EPs since 2000's Measure -- but Pond shows no signs of slowing down. Last Light finds him sitting in the producer's seat for the first time, bolstering his emotive track list with an indie rock sheen not heard on previous albums, and using twilight to explore the theme of contrast. Much like Neko Case's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, whose elegiac beauty was one of Light's chief inspirations, Pond's newest songs mix melancholy with hope, reality with memory, lonely guitars with chamber pop string sections. Case even makes a cameo here, lending her slow-smoked alto to the Monday morning blues of "Taught to Look Away." She's one of many surprise visitors, actually; having lost the lineup from Several Arrows Later, Pond has assembled another competent group -- including a replacement cellist, although the instrument isn't used as often -- and dotted the guest list with Isobel Sollenberger (Bardo Pond), John O'Mahoney (Metric), guest producer Rob Schnapf (Beck), and Rooney guitarist Taylor Locke (who, although his specific credits aren't listed, is likely the person behind the tastefully raucous solo in "The Crush"). Often, the music is wistful and introspective, with Pond annunciating his lyrics carefully, articulately, slowly -- almost as if he's afraid to let the words leave his lips. Elsewhere, he embraces the sweeping guitar-led sounds of Blur, Pulp, and other British heavyweights, whose influence culminates on the outstanding "Basement Parties." Last Light is an altogether different album from what we've heard before, as Matt Pond has rarely put himself in such close contact with his idols. Nevertheless, it's a leap forward for an artist who rarely, if ever, heads in the wrong direction.