The Natural Lines have shared their new video for “Person Of Interest” from their self-titled album, out now on Bella Union. The video was directed and shot by Nikki Saltby.

On the track and video The Natural Lines’ Matt Pond says:
“The first time I drove out west, I was eighteen. We had to sleep on the side of the highway in our station wagon because we’d been driving straight from New Hampshire. We woke up in the Arizona desert.

I had been raised in the mountains, engulfed in green leaves. In the desert, there was endless open space and so many shades of brown. I felt totally lost, like I was nothing.

A part of me was terrified, a part of me was thrilled. I could be no one, I could be anyone. And in the song, there is the same feeling of being both.

My friends in Arizona shot the video with this corresponding sensibility in mind. Beautiful, wide desert scenes set against the simplicity of love and “normal life.”

I didn’t want to be in the video because it increased that sense of displacement — these days, we don’t have to be anywhere specific to be a part of something happening far away. Also, I love it when other people sing our songs.”

On the album Matt explains, “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.” For Matt, the call to ring the changes came with the recognition of “a certain nihilism or narcissism” involved in making music. “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.”

On Wednesday, May 3 The Natural Lines will kick off their East Coast tour in support of their album. The tour will include shows in Brooklyn, Somerville, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and more. Lighthouse and the Whaler will support in most markets.

Buy tickets here. Purchase or stream The Natural Lines here.

The Natural Lines Tour Dates
05.03 – Somerville, MA @ Crystal Ballroom at the Somerville Theatre
05.05 – Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus
05.06 – Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head On Stage (at 1:00pm)
5.07 – Washington, D.C. @ Black Cat
05.09 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendas
05.10 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Hard Rock Cafe
05.11 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe
05.12 – Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop
05.13 – Millersville, PA @ Phantom Power

The Natural Lines Track List

1. Monotony
2. No More Tragedies
3. HELP
4. Alex Bell
5. My Answer
6. Spontaneous Skylights 1
7. A Scene That Will Never Die
8. Person Of Interest
9. Don’t Come Down
10. Artificial Moonlight
11. Mahwah