Matt & Kim by Aaron Eisenberg
When the opening keyboard notes of “Daylight,” by indie duo Matt and Kim, pop from a speaker, you know exactly what song it is and what you’re in for: It’s a wild, lighthearted romp of just under three minutes that even today, 14 years later, still has audiences screaming the lyrics.
The musical and romantic partnership of Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino began at art school (Pratt University in New York in the early 2000s). With no prior musical experience, they began playing intimate house shows in Brooklyn after learning to play drums (Schifino) and keyboards (Johnson).
After a couple of albums, they broke through with 2009’s “Grand,” full of danceable bops like “Daylight” and ballads like “Turn This Boat Around.” They relied on home production, recording in Johnson’s Vermont childhood bedroom. In the end, they managed to meld the flair of indie pop with the passionate energy of pop-punk and hip-hop-like beats you can bang your head to.
It’s one thing to hear their songs on the radio or through Bluetooth, but it’s another to witness Matt and Kim on stage in all their happiness and raging glory. They’ve become that party band that you don’t want to miss. For just two people, they don’t need much to put on a hell of a show. Johnson whines on vocals while artfully slamming keys, and Schifino enthusiastically pounds on her drum kit, both of them beaming and sharing witty commentary in between tracks.
In their heyday, Matt and Kim reflected the emotions of Millennials entering young adulthood, unsure of where to turn and how to release their frustrations, not unlike blink-182 and Green Day singing to preteens and high schoolers about feeling rebellious and misunderstood.
Maybe we’re a little older and have things more together, but Johnson and Schifino still make music for us. We can reminisce while hearing the lyrics to “Good Ol’ Fashion Nightmare” (“Riding trains to end of lines / Still we’ve got nothin’ but time / The skyline looks brighter tonight / Let’s go smash out every light”) and celebrate.
Matt and Kim perform 7:30pm Saturday, September 16 at Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale. mattandkim.com ~ Olivia Feldman
