AUTUMN ALBUMS: several arrows later by matt pond PA

Sure, it's a few weeks before the official start of autumn, but I think in the waning days of summer there's no better time to prepare for the next season. In the following weeks, I will share a few albums that I consider as important in the fall as a scarf or a coat.

Here's the first one -- a classic. Matt Pond PA's Several Arrows Later is almost chronological -- it starts in Halloween where he conjures up images of a city pavement's tapestry of leaves, the streets, gutters, and the air full of that smokey, musky smell that stings enough to make you feel like you're going somewhere as you're wrapped up. With hands in your pocket, the album moves through winter -- your neighbor's flaming house, the hopelessness of The Moviegoer -- until it ends somewhere in spring.

This is such an lyrically understated album, and beneath all the beautiful instrumentation, you'll find something there if you just keep your ear to the ground.


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