Matt Pond PA/Wild Pink

This is it, folks: the swan song for Matt Pond PA. Kicked off in the late 1990s as a sort of power-pop collective for singer-songwriter Matt Pond, the “PA,” as it were, is disbanding after this final tour. This year’s new album, Still Summer, brings the band’s LP count to 12, and it’s as fine a piece of music as they’ve produced throughout their journey. “The Ballad of Laura and Mike” tells a beautiful love story about guest singer Laura Stevenson and her husband, Mike Campbell (the bass player in Matt Pond PA). It’s a great tune, and it shows how adept Pond has become at assembling a stirring cast of characters in his musical world. Elsewhere, the title track cuts through youthful memories to the soul of summer itself: freedom, warmth, love and danger. (Eric Sandy)