131 Records reissue Matt Pond PA's acclaimed 2015 album The State of Gold. But it might not be quite how fans remember it. The LP has been remastered, the tracks have been reordered and 'Spaceland' has been re-recorded...

When Matt Pond PA got the master rights back to their album, The State of Gold. The band remastered and resequenced it in reverse because that’s the way they see the past. It’s the taillights that appear last.

Talking about the release, Matt Pond says: "When we got the rights back to The State of Gold, I knew that I wanted to change the order and remaster the album. And I knew that I wanted to re-record 'Spaceland' and put it first. The song has always felt alive to me. It has an undeniable pulse. Matthew Caws and Louie Lino from Nada Surf found the pulse and gave 'Spaceland' a new life. An uncontrollable smile overtakes my face every time I think about Matthew's new bridge".

I still play 'Canada' and 'Union Square' on a regular basis from Pond's 2017 LP Still Summer. In fact 'Don't Look Down' has a similar structure to 'Union Square'. There's no denying the fact that the band have an uncanny knack of writing songs that get under your skin. The State of Gold is as fresh today as it was back in 2015, but then Pond has a timeless appeal to their work.

If you don't already own this, now is the perfect time to pick it up.

10

Nick Smithson