This Friday, Matt Pond PA will release the Songs Of Disquiet EP. All proceeds from sales at Bandcamp will benefit the Save The Music Foundation. Today the band shared the official video for “The Start” from the upcoming release. The video which was directed by Ryan Harrington premiered at American Songwriter and can also be shared at YouTube. About the song Matt Pond says:
“The Start” is the straightforward dive into full-on therapy. It is my ego left uncovered in the middle of the road, the attempt to unravel the tangled routes that lead me back to myself.
The lightness of the arrangement was meant to support the sense that it’s not a tragedy. There is a triumph in trying to be a better person. Because even though it took a lifetime to figure it out — it was all there from the start.
MJ, a fifteen-year-old singer-songwriter from Kingston, NY, lent her voice to this. MJ will someday be a musical force, all on her own.
Last month the band revealed the new video for the band’s take on The Thermals classic “Pillar Of Salt” from the forthcoming EP. The video features comedians Nikki Glaser, Andrew Collin, Ian Fidance, singer songwriter Anya Marina and Matt Pond dancing on a Zoom call. The video premiered at Brooklyn Vegan and can also be shared at YouTube.In between the mountains of upheaval and quarantine, there’s been a reawakening. For over a decade–and under the band name Matt Pond PA — Matt Pond and Chris Hansen have collaborated on hundreds of songs. In March of 2020, they, along with the rest of the world, found themselves having to completely reevaluate the way they work, create, and communicate. Their process had to completely unravel before it came back to life.
The Songs of Disquiet EP is a collection of eight songs–some covers and some originals–born out of the convergence of both a global pandemic and a worldwide civil rights movement. The collaborations therein happened at a distance, through wires and pure faith. This collection of songs (and videos) was made in spite of all of parties being quarantined / on lockdown and, in many cases, living in different cities and states.
All of the songs (some covers, some originals) speak to themes of not only disquiet and unrest, but inner transformation and hope. The reimagined acoustic and dance versions of the Thermals’ 2006 song “A Pillar of Salt” (“still” and “shaken,” respectively) feel eerily prescient: I can see she’s afraid / She could see the danger / We don’t want to die or apologize for our dirty God, our dirty bodies. The grand and sweeping versions of George Harrison’s “Give Me Love (Peace on Earth)” and Shocking Blue’s “Rock in the Sea” feel more necessary now than ever.
The cover art was created by artist Rachel Stewart. There’s probably never been a better time to learn and rehearse an instrument — therefore, 100% of the proceeds from Bandcamp will go to Save the Music.
