Like its title suggests, Last Light is mainly focused on twilight, that hazy period where scattered sun separates nighttime from daylight. The album also finds
Matt Pond sitting in the producer's seat for the first time, bolstering his track list with an indie rock polish not heard on previous albums. Much like
Neko Case's
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, whose atmospheric sound was one of Light's biggest inspirations, these songs mix melancholy with hope, reality with memory, lonely guitars with chamber pop string sections.
Case even makes a cameo here, singing backup on the bluesy "Taught to Look Away." She's one of many guests, actually; having lost the lineup that helped record
Several Arrows Later,
Pond has assembled another competent group -- including a replacement cellist, although the instrument isn't used as often -- and filled his cameo list with names like
Isobel Sollenberger (
Bardo Pond), John O'Mahoney (
Metric), guest producer
Rob Schnapf (
Beck), and
Rooney guitarist
Taylor Locke. Often, the music is wistful and introspective, with
Pond annunciating his lyrics with slow deliberation. Elsewhere, he embraces the sweeping guitar-led sounds of
Blur,
Pulp, and other British heavyweights, whose influence culminates on the memorable "Basement Parties." Last Light is a different album from what we've heard before, and
Matt Pond has rarely put himself in such close contact with his idols. Even so, it's another move forward for an artist who rarely heads in the wrong direction. ~ Andrew Leahey