Kevin Bronson on May 13th, 2015

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The good news is that long-running indie stalwart Matt Pond PA has a new album due June 30. It’s titled “The State of Gold,” coming via the recently resuscitated Doghouse Records, and ranks with the three-album run in the mid-Aughts that remain near and dear to the hearts of Pond lifers (it says here) — 2002’s “The Nature of Maps,” 2004’s “Emblems” and 2005’s “Several Arrows Later.” The bad news is that over the weekend in Chicago, Pond and his band were robbed of their money, computers and passports. In a Facebook post, Pond put the losses at $12,000, and there is fund-raising in place to help. The theft was a bitter turn to what had been a triumphant tour behind the 10-year anniversary of “Several Arrows Later.” Anyway, “The State of Gold” is Pond’s ninth full-length and finds him dialing things up after 2010’s melancholy “The Dark Leaves.” At its best, Matt Pond PA’s music has the propensity to sound both intimate and expansive; this new release is among its most lush.  

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