winter songs

One of my new purchases the other day turned out to be packed full of surprises.

I didn't really pay attention when I bought the new Matt Pond,PA ep, called Wintersongs. I just saw that it has seven tracks. So I was thinkin' there was no way I could go wrong.

Three original songs, which are all great. Standard Matt Pond stuff; kinda Shins-esque. Actually, the first song sounds so strikingly like it could be a Shins song, that I had to double check the status of my iTunes player. Something about the vocal harmonies, or the way they stack the vocals in the studio. Not really a whole lot to the song, but it really sticks with you. On this record, though, there's not so much cello and violin that they usually use. It's there, but not as prominent. To be frank, I kinda miss it, except on the last track, but I still like this release.


Like I say, three originals. Four covers.
"Winterlong" by Neil Young
"I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight" by Richard & Linda Thompson
"Holiday Road" by Lindsey Buckingham
"In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel.

I didn't even look at the track listing as I listened to the ep the first time, and to be honest, I don't know the music of Richard & Linda Thompson at all, and I don't know enough Neil Young to recognize that track. But the last two floored me. Yeah, its cheesy, but it still makes me smile to hear "Holiday Road". Although the tempo and instrumentation are quite different from the original, I still get the same feeling from hearing this one. "In the Aeroplane...", on the other hand was kind of shocking version. In this track, actually, there is tons of cello. It contrast to the original version, this one has a more pronounced drum track, and the guitar part is played less jangly. The NMH version, although a fantastic song, always seemed creepy to me. I guess part of that stems from the heavy use of the theramin, which the Ponds don't use. I really like this one quite a bit. It makes me smile.

I don't know if you five loyal readers and other visitors know or care about Matt Pond, PA, but I can highly recommend The Nature of Maps. HIGHLY recommend. Give it a spin. Or I will come to your house while you're at work and hold your fabric softener at ransom. If you like "Maps",then you should buy this ep. You can't download it from iTunes, and honestly, Steve Jobs doesn't need your money anyway. Your local independent record shop owner does.

By the way, the spell checker on this thing sucks.

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