-- By Eric J. Lawrence, KCRW Music Librarian and DJ
It’s amazing the ruckus you can create with just two people. Matt & Kim’s particular brand of musical ruckus consists of catchy electro-pop riffs married to driving, incessant beats and topped off with enthusiastically artless chanting. And while that might not sound all that special, Matt & Kim defy expectations with the sheer power of their unbridled enthusiasm. You’d be hard pressed to find a band who get more into their own music-making than they do.
That enthusiasm is infectious. It’s the magic ingredient to Matt & Kim’s success, making them perfectly suited for the festival stages of Coachella, Bonnaroo and numerous others, which is truly where they’ve made a name for themselves as undeniable crowd pleasers. But they haven’t forgotten you need songs too, and as their new album, Lightning, demonstrates, they are willing to try a few different directions to keep things fresh. There are pogo-inspiring anthems, such as the lead cut and rallying cry, “Let’s Go,” as well as manic musical emotional outbursts like “Overexposed” and “Much Too Late,” and even some quieter, reflective moments, such as on “10 Dollars I Found.”
There is the spirit of their hometown of Brooklyn in their fourth album, but it’s been there all along. The energy of the city, a musical hotbed in the new millennium, is expressed throughout the diversity of their songs. But at heart it is still the excitement of two people who love to make music and share it with listeners, whether in a huge crowd at a concert or one at a time in a listener’s earbuds, that shines through their work
Lightning will be available to stream on demand from Monday, October 1 through October 8th, 2012.