Matt & Kim
Matt & Kim

(iheartcomix)

First Appeared in The Music Box, March 2007, Volume 14, #3

Written by John Metzger

If The White Stripes were to forsake their love of Led Zeppelin’s canon in order to begin an affair with The Cure’s synth-driven ruminations from the ’80s, the result likely would sound a lot like the self-titled debut from Matt & Kim. Throughout the 29-minute set — which concludes with a bonus track featuring 120 seconds of idiotic banter — Kim Schifino pounds away on a minimalist drum kit with a metronomic, punk-driven fervor. Meanwhile, keyboard player Matt Johnson orchestrates the songs with low, rumbling bass lines and squishy, jittery melodies while enthusiastically singing in a voice that echoes the tormented wail of Robert Smith. Considering that Schifino and Johnson seem to have no expectations for their concoctions, the endeavor, not surprisingly, exudes a slacker-driven, lo-fi aura that is the bane of indie rock’s DIY aspects. As such, its problems are twofold: First and foremost, Matt & Kim’s lyrics are so simplistically repetitive that they feel as if they were written in the spur of the moment. Secondly, the songs themselves all sprout from a formulaic common ground. Nevertheless, the brevity of the eponymous outing combined with the urgency of Matt & Kim’s delivery means that the material sometimes strikes a visceral chord that allows it, on occasion, to flourish.

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Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2007 The Music Box