If It's Too Loud...

The Natural Lines is the new musical project of Matt Pond. If their new(ish) single is any indication, their sound will be similar to Matt Pond PA but much larger. "Monotony" has that indie rock/pop sound that we came to love with Matt Pond PA, but it's a much bigger, more fleshed out sound. It's an older, more mature sound that still allows for flashes of experimentation. This is earnest indie rock at its very finest, and we'll be looking forward to hearing what they do next. You can watch the Nikki Glaser starring video for "Monotony" below. The Natural Lines' self-titled debut album is due out March 24 on Bella Union. The album can be pre-ordered here . For more on The Natural Lines, check out the band's website .

One of my favorite things about Matt Pond is the frequency that he releases cover songs. For Thanksgiving he decided to give us all an early gift (even though he's been spoiling us recently by offering us free downloads of his first and brand new albums) and cover Led Zeppelin's "Thank You" with Chris Hansen. I've been developing an appreciation for Zeppelin late in life (most of my college years were spent despising anything that could be considered classic rock because I just had to be that guy...), so this cover is right up my current alley. The Matt Pond & Chris Hansen version of "Thank You" is shockingly close to the original. Pond even does an amazing Robert Palmer on the vocals. They do inject the dreaminess that we would expect from anything Matt Pond related, so it's basically everything we ever want in a cover song. You can listen to Matt Pond & Chris Hansen's cover of "Thank You" below. It's also available...

Last week saw Matt Pond giving away his debut album, Deer Apartments , for free. At the time, he promised that he'd be delivering a new EP this week, also for free. Free Fall is available now, and it's being called an EP it's nine songs long. According to their website, Free Fall is "... a free EP dedicated to Pennsylvania, love, autumn and you!" It appears to be under the name "Matt Pond, Chris Hansen, and Sean Hansen" instead of the retired Matt Pond PA name, or the briefly used Spaceland. It's pretty safe to say that if you've liked anything Matt Pond has released previously, you're going to like Free Fall. The songs tend to be a bit mellower than Deer Apartments  but right in line with more recent Matt Pond PA releases. "Outside" may be my favorite, in it's not quite folk, not quite pop, not quite rock kinda upbeat way. It wouldn't be a Matt Pond release without a cover, and they break out a brilliant version of INXS...

Normally when an artist realizes that their classic album is twenty years old, they release a deluxe reissue with every version of songs ever recorded, rarities we already bought on UK only singles, and maybe a live cut or two just to make sure to squeeze every last dime out of us (and with the music industry being what it is, can we blame them?) Not Matt Pond PA. This is the twentieth anniversary of their debut album Deer Apartments , so they're just giving it away as a free download. For some reason I have never delved this far back into Matt Pond PA's catalog, and I somehow missed this back in my college radio days, but Deer Apartments is simply brilliant. While there is still the fantastic hook filled songwriting rooted in Tom Petty style Americana, it's all immersed in a heaping helping of late 90's indie rock. I'm pretty embarrassed this is my first listen of this album.  You can download Deer Apartments for free over at Matt Pond PA's website . Of cou...

One of our favorite things about Matt Pond PA were their love of covers, since, as we always remind you, we're pretty fond of cover songs here at If It's Too Loud... Matt Pond's love of cover songs remains intact with his new project, Spaceland (name subject to change). The latest cover he's given us with this name is a great version of The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun." Covering The Beatles can be tricky since die hard fans will freak out about any change or just the fact that an artist is daring to try. Spaceland do a fantastic job, slowing down the song slightly and giving it a bit of a spacey feel. It's the perfect kind of cover song since it stays completely true to the original while adding just enough of their own sound to it to make it worthwhile. Plus, the song comes at the perfect time since the extended winter we've been experiencing in the Northeast United States appears to finally be over. You can listen to Spacelend's version ...

Last year saw the end of Matt Pond PA as a musical project. Luckily for the universe as a whole, Matt Pond is still making music. For now, the project is called Spaceland but is subject to change. He's released four "rough demos" for Spaceland songs, and if these are the rough versions, I can't imagine how great the actual releases will be. The first track, "Outside," is a great, upbeat indie rock song that stops well short of being twee. This is my favorite of the batch, and still sounds like Matt Pond PA enough for fans, but different enough to warrant a new project name. It also includes a cover of INXS's "Don't Change." I loved Matt Pond PA's covers, and it looks like that will continue with Spaceland.  You can listen to Spaceland's demos below via Soundcloud. To keep up with Spaceland and Matt Pond's music in general, check him out on Patreon . He's also looking to put listeners' thoughts and dreams to music. If...

Photo via Facebook Matt Pond PA might love covers as much as we do. As they wind down, they're giving us another great cover song. This time it's for The Cars' classic "Drive." "Drive" might be my least favorite of The Cars' hit songs, but that being said, it's still a great song. Matt Pond PA's version of it keeps it completely true to the original, which is hard to do without synthesizers. Instead, it's a dreamy folk ballad version with pedal steel standing in for the synths. Somehow, this makes it an absolutely perfect cover song. You can listen to Matt Pond PA's cover of "Drive" below. For more on Matt Pond PA, including what appear to be their final tour dates, check out their website .

The combination of Matt Pond PA and Laura Stevenson is pretty much a dream for us, and an unexpected one. Apparently we need some kind of indie rock version of TMZ, since the song, "The Ballad of Laura and Mike," is about a long distance relationship between Laura Stevenson and a member of Matt Pond PA. (Funny, I know far more about the love lives of celebrities I couldn't care less about...) The song is an upbeat, slightly faster than mid-tempo song about love, but with plenty of melancholy, being about long distance love and all. It's the kind of just shy of epic power pop we want from Matt Pond PA, with the added bonus of Laura Stevenson's vocals. "The Ballad of Laura and Mike" will be included on Matt Pond PA's upcoming album, Still Summer. The album is due on August 11, and reports are that it will be the final Matt Pond PA album. It can be pre-ordered in various bundles  here . You can listen to "The Ballad of Laura and Mike" belo...

Noisetrade has three EPs in one from Matt Pond , initially designed to be three seven-inch releases. Matt Pond's latest album has ended up in semi-constant rotation for me, so some extra free tunes from this indie rock stalwart isn't a bad thing...

For the inaugural Nines Festival, 10 diverse bands were brought to an athletic field in the middle of a decommissioned military base that has never hosted a music event of this size. It could have been a recipe for disaster. Instead it was a fantastic day of music and arts that will hopefully be the first of many to come. Upon walking into the venue, I was struck by how much art was integrated into the festival immediately. Installations and dancers were the first thing we came across before we even got into the main area. The main stage was set up right at the home plate of the baseball diamond, which created a fantastic natural line : People could stand in front of the stage on the dirt, while blankets and chairs stayed back on the grass . It probably wasn’t done on purpose, but it was the happiest of accidents. First up was Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys, who were an interesting choice to say the least. As much performance art as they are music, they mes...

He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister are going to get lumped into the whole freak folk thing based on their name and their look. However, they are nowhere near as cutesy as you’d think based on those two factors. They’re much closer in style to bands like David Wax Museum and Dr. Dog. Right now Noisetrade is offering the 5 song " Let It Live Free " EP sampler mostly consisting of Daytrotter and Audiotree recordings. I’m going to highly recommend you download it and take a listen. It’s good, fun folk rock with a pretty good emphasis on the rock aspect. Download "Let It Live Free" over at Noisetrade , and check out their tour dates and the video for "Can't See the Stars" below. Jul 19 2013      London UK     Somerset House with Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros Jul 23 2013      Manchester UK            The Castle Hotel      ...

Ok.. fine. It's not through us. But we want to make sure you know about a couple of contests to win free tickets to the Nines Festival, happening at Willard Field in Devens, MA on August 10. The inaugural event features Explosions In the Sky, Dr. Dog, Delta Spirit, Shuggie Otis, Walk Off the Earth, Kid Koala, and Matt Pond with more to be announced. There's also a comedy tent curated by Rick Jenkins of The Comedy Studio featuring Erin Judge, Ken Reid, and Jenny Zigrino with more to be announced. You can enter for tickets through Relix here and CMJ here. Hurry, because the CMJ contest ends tomorrow, June 27! And, of course, check out the Nines Festival website for more info.

Explosions in the Sky Central Massachusetts used to be a great area for live music. The Wallace Civic Center in Fitchburg used to host bands like Nirvana, Fugazi, House of Pain, Cypress Hill, Soundgarden, etc., there was the Worcester New Aud, shows at the Centrum, and the Fitchburg Municipal Airport even hosted a Warped Tour before it decided to go all Live Nation shed circuit. But, the last show at the Wallace Civic Center was in 1997 (if memory serves me correctly) and the Warped Tour was in 2006. I couldn’t even tell you what the last concert at the DCU Center was. This is where the Nines Festival comes in. Delta Spirit The 1 st ever Nines Festival is happening in Devens , MA on August 10 th . It’s a multistage, multi-arts festival featuring one of the best and most diverse line ups around this summer. You have the post-punk of Explosions in the Sky, neo-psychedelic Dr. Dog, Newport Folk Festival veterans Delta Spirit, Walk Off the Earth (best...