The problem for Matt Pond PA is that sometimes these elements add up to random indie band, not breakout indie band, and right now it's looking like the band is destined to be a footnote to the likes of the Shins and Death Cab for Cutie.
and I hope not. They at least deserve enough fame to earn them a VH1 special 20 years from now. Their music tends to evoke the mood of moments in transition - that moment in late October when you're nostalgic for the summer that wasn't quite all it could be, that moment in a new relationship when it suddenly stops being new and starts to be something else - that is, the nostalgia for a moment just passed. That's probably best captured in the lyrics to So Much Trouble from their latest CD Several Arrows Later.
i don't think i want to think about it
how the fall is coming down
the light is leaving and it's hard to breathe
buried in a pile of leaves
Anyway, good stuff, unless my taste in music is shite in which case you should ignore me.