Posted on Fri, Mar. 17, 2006

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Matt Pond PA, accelerating

Enjoying sold-out shows, "O.C." fame.

By Steve Klinge

For The Inquirer

Although Matt Pond PA albums produced over the last eight years usually have included one or two amped-up electric songs among the melancholy, cello-based ballads, Several Arrows Later nearly reverses the proportion.

Eve Miller and her cello are still present - besides the namesake leader she's the sole holdover in the band since Pond left Philly for New York three years ago - but clear-toned electric guitars and revved-up rhythms define this album.

The band has been out on tour constantly since last fall, first opening for the salacious Liz Phair, now on a bill with the jangly Youth Group (which brings them to World Cafe Live Monday), soon with bluegrass stars Nickel Creek. That's a diverse set of pairings, and, coupled with a cover of Oasis' "Champagne Supernova" for TV's The O.C., it means Matt Pond PA's name recognition has increased significantly.

To Matt Pond's amazement, the group has sold out a bunch of recent shows.

"I think we're the most slowly built band in all history," Pond says on the phone between tour stops in Dallas and Austin. "The O.C., word of mouth - it's almost grassroots that got us where we are, but I can't tell. Yes, there are people who yell for certain songs because of The O.C. I'm glad we did that; it's kind of cool. But we get flak for it sometimes."

Call it the slings and Arrows of slightly outrageous fortune.

"It's so unfair. It's as if we should be monks, and should be like, 'Oh, no no - we're not going to take any money for this show,' " Pond says. "Someone was yelling at us in Vancouver: 'What is it for, the music or the money?' Obviously, I wouldn't be sitting in my underwear in the back of a smelly, 15-passenger van if it wasn't for the music. But at the same point, we do like eating and having clothes, and people arguing against those things are really stupid."