Somewhat tellingly, Matt Pond wrote “Straight Into The Night” during a bout of insomnia. “The rare kind that brings clarity instead of exhaustion,” says the veteran singer, songwriter and bandleader. “The words, driving drums and melody all arrived at once, as if they’d been waiting for me to be awake.”
The track is one of 10 on Permanent Change Part 1 (Sonder House), the 16th studio album for the native New Englander, who commenced his evocative, emotionally authentic indie-rock project three decades ago in Philadelphia and currently resides in New York’s Hudson Valley. Pond envisions the LP as potentially the first of two or three volumes—a “sprawling and wild” project concerned with the small moments and minor upheavals that accumulate in life. As for the lyrics to his latest single, they’re about moving through uncertainty without succumbing to cynicism.
“The world can feel like a mess, but underneath all of it, I still believe in humanity,” says Pond. “In our capacity to surprise each other, to keep going and to find our way through.”
That faith carries over to the song’s video, which reunites Pond with actor Kate Walsh (Grey’s Anatomy, Emily In Paris) and serves as a sequel of sorts to the clip for the last single, “Learn How To Lose” (which also features Pond’s wife of three years, singer/songwriter Anya Marina). Both songs grapple with navigating the unknown and, if the videos are any indication, actually embracing it.
“‘Straight Into The Night’ is about being in the moment and not needing to know where it’s going,” says Pond. “That’s basically what we were doing. We were both playing with the track, trying things, going for it, without much of an expectation—just letting it happen.”
For Walsh, making both videos was a powerful reminder of the value of creating with people you trust. “In this time when things are so ever-changing in everyone’s creative communities, what a privilege and honor it is to work with friends, make stuff up and play around,” says Walsh. “That’s a delightful and special thing.”
We’re proud to premiere Matt Pond PA’s “Straight Into The Night” video. Look for Permanent Change Part 1 on October 9.
—Hobart Rowland
See Matt Pond PA live.
