A Love Story….Not Taylor Swift. Sorry.

There is just something appealing about a couple that makes music together.  Matt & Kim are no exception.  Their new record, “Grand,” was released January 20th.  It is a simple, fun indie-pop album that you will not be able to stop singing for weeks.  The music itself is basically the same throughout the record, with a little bit of variety here and there.

Matt & Kim, (Synth and Drums, respectively) are a band from Brooklyn, New York who over the past 2 or 3 years have gained a strong following thanks to the internet.  Between their presence on Myspace and Youtube, and their view on downloading music, they have done pretty well for themselves.  Their first cd, “Matt & Kim” was put out on “Iheartcomix” in 2006.

Their follow up to the self-titled “Grand,” is the same as it’s predecessor.  It’s filled simple melodies and plenty of hand claps.  Clocking in at just under 30 minutes, the 11-song affair is short and sweet.  The thing about Matt & Kim’s music is that you really would not want them to change the formula too much.  They have a catchy, silly bunch of songs on “Grand” and anything else simply would not fit.  The best part about the cd is that you instantly feel great after hearing the opening track, “Daylight.”

You can hear plenty of hip-hop influences in it’s piano-driven love song.  The shout-shout-back vocals in the song really make it that much more enjoyable.  The lyrics are at the same time happy, and sad.  For example:

And in the daylight we can hitchhike to Maine
I hope that someday I’ll see without these frames
And in the daylight I don’t pick up my phone
Cause in the daylight anywhere feels like home

At times the song is hopeful, and at other times the singer sounds like he’s down and out.  Either way, the song is infectious and runs through my head incessantly.

While daylight remains my favorite, “Don’t Slow Down” is a close second.  It has an anthem feel to it.  A summer song if there ever was one.  The song itself is fun and different from the rest of the tracks on the cd, but the lyrics are uninspired.  The lyrics are at about the same level as Blink 182, just repeating “Don’t slow down” again and again.

The album has a few other tracks that stand out above the rest, but no song, other than “Daylight,” is excellent.  If you are looking for a fun record to listen to without putting much thought into, i recommend picking up “Grand.”  I can tell you that you will enjoy it, but it most likely won’t become your new musical obsession.

Stand Out Tracks:

“Daylight”

“Don’t Slow Down”

“I Wanna”

Grand