A deviation from the standard premature evaluative procedure here, as Matt & Kim have gone ahead and put their entire album up for streaming today, and you’ve already heard at least three songs (“Wires” and “Block After Block” and “Cameras“), and it seems like you may have some strong words to share about the album or just Matt & Kim in general. Our posting day is done, but here’s your shot: YOU BE THE BLOG.
Stream Matt & Kim’s Sidewalks at MySpace, contribute your Premature Evaluation commentary in the section of this post marked “Comments.”
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The main appeal of Matt & Kim’s first two albums was the high energy pop-punk atmosphere that blasted you upside the head with joy. The albums were a near direct translation of their awesome live show and though the music itself was quite simple, it was a lot of fun. Sidewalks, through a bad case of overproduction, pretty much eliminates most of the energy that makes Matt & Kim appealing in the first place. The stupid/fun synth and dumb sing along lyrics are still here but Kim’s percussion, arguably the lifeblood of the aforementioned energy the band exudes, is severely downplayed in favor of what sounds like artificial drums and bells added in post production (also evident is some very poorly done autotune for dear old Matt, something that has been present in all of their albums but is way more distracting here).
This is Matt & Kim with their balls removed so to speak. The energy is almost nonexistent, the production sounds like some Katy Perry b-sides and Kim seems to just generally be downplayed altogether. This isn’t a bad album and I am sure all of these songs will be given new life in their live show but as a big fan of their first two albums, this is disappointing.
I have to agree with Nathan more than I wish. I love Matt & Kim. This album shows growth in lots of ways, including some of Matt’s synth parts. What’s lost is so much of their incredible spontaneity and infectiousness. The fun will come through in the live versions, but this was far too produced for what they do best. People may not be aware that “Daylight” actually went gold based on TV exposure and their wonderful live shows. I’m not sure this album has anything that strong. I’m hoping I’m wrong but I root really hard for these two!
I think the album sums up current youth culture trendiness at its best/worst (depending on which side of the fence you sit on.) It definitely appeals to the faux-hipster crowd (which kind of makes you miss faux-emo) with Matt & Kim being the peppy American Apparel version of Brooklyn’s biggest cheerleaders but it also appeals to a broader pop audience because, and maybe it’s just me, but a lot of these songs sound like Matt & Kims song mashed together with that godawful “Shawtyz like a memory in my head that I can’t keep up with got me singing somethingsomethingsmething like my iPod stuck on replay. like my iPod stuck on replay..” song.
I actually tolerate the record. I feel Matt & Kim’s previous records kind of suffer from not flowing well and feeling half baked. With sidewalks, it deffentily feels like a finished package. However, the album doesn’t have any daylight moment or any big song like that. Also, I would have to agree that sometimes it feels almost to poppy and needs to sit back and let the chord progressions go somewhere other then where they are predictably going. On the same token, there are some good tracks, Block after Block is super rad and I like Wires. Cameras was cool at first but its starting to loose its luster.
If I could sum up this record in a metaphor of sorts, it is a reverse The Pains Of Being Pure at Heart self-titled record. When listening to the POBPH album for the first time its way to poppy and not at substincy enough buy through more and more listens the substience and depth of the record slowly reveals its self to the listener and it shows how great and beefy the album truely is. With Sidewalks it starts out kicking ass but the more you listen to the preview singles and the album it might slowly fade.
I’m not saying it’s a bad record, I’m saying its got good ideas but it takes some time to see whats really going on, and the results aren’t entirely rewarding, though there is some benifit
I do more than tolerate the record; I think it’s totally fun. I loved the first album, but I didn’t get into the 2nd. I had zero expectations for this one, but I downloaded it for the heck of it. I almost cringed during the first few seconds, but then I realized something: this is awesome! So, sparing all of the hipster conjecture and pretentious filtering of thought, I like this album on a very basic, enjoyable level.
But then again, I’m digging Rihanna’s new stuff, too!
Hey, I dig it.