Check out the recent single from The Natural Lines. ‘Monotony’ is a brilliantly melodic, well-crafted song that builds into a stirring, upbeat anthem. Frontman Matt Pond, who has previously released a number of albums with the band Matt Pond PA, delivers clean, clear vocals that find an engaging tune. It’s bright, warm, catchy and immediate, displaying Pond’s excellent songwriting skills. The clever, good-humoured video features comedian, actress and television presenter Nikki Glaser as a therapist, whose approach is somewhat unconventional as she mimes the song’s lyrics.
Pond says of the song and video: “Over the last few years, I’ve tried to focus on my breathing—to try to and be a better singer, to try and be a better person. But it’s hard to sit still and slow down when the world seems so unruly. ‘Monotony’ is an anthem about the daily tightrope – searching for the right path between passion and apathy. All the while, I’ve been working with Nikki Glaser. Her fearlessness is contagious. Since she never hesitates to tell me what she really thinks, I thought it made perfect sense for Nikki to portray my therapist in the video.”
The single is taken from the band’s self-titled debut album, which is due out on 24th March 2023 and can be pre-ordered here. The full-length record is the follow-up to the well-received EP First Five, released in 2022. Pond describes the approach to writing the album: “It was something different from the start. I wanted to write as purely as I could. Instead of getting stuck in the ‘tour, write an album, release an album, tour’ cycle, which is not a natural way of writing or living, I wanted to write an album and when it was done I wanted to make sure it was done. I didn’t want this feeling of, ‘Oh, we didn’t have time’, or, ‘I don’t know whether I believe in the songs but it’s coming out anyway.’ I used to be always racing to the finish line, but I’m not anymore. In some ways, you have to get in your own head and I think I went too far with that, with drinking and shutting people out. In something that I believe is collaborative, it’s not helpful. I quit lying. I checked my harsher tones. I cut my drinking down. I went to therapy and figured out how to stop shouting at cars. Once I took control of my mind, I could see what I wanted to say more clearly. Instead of random floods of mania and panic, I felt like I was composed and composing. It has become as simple as reading the words of a sentence in the right order. As small as the pause before I hit ‘send’.” Pond is now based in Kingston, New York, and, having made changes in his personal life, this new musical direction is open, honest and full of catchy hooks and engagingly tuneful songcraft. Well worth checking out.
