Yea Yeah

For a solid six-month period when I lived in Jerusalem, I made sure to have "Daylight" by Matt & Kim playing on my iPod whenever I stepped out into the sun on the way to work. Even that relatively simple joyfest of a track was somewhat more complex than my original Matt & Kim favorite, "Yea Yeah" from their 2006 self-titled debut. Nothing but synth, drums, and yelling, "Yea Yeah" and songs of its ilk were straight party jams. When their unpolished sound rocked the walls of the Terrace F. Club back in March 2007, I knew it wouldn't be long before they hit it big.

Fast-forward to 2009's Grand, and my beloved "Daylight" was showing up in commercials before reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond. The indie rock halls of Brooklyn, it seemed, weren't so far from Madison Avenue after all. But I don't blame Matt & Kim (or Grizzly Bear, or Arcade Fire) for "selling out" - we consumers don't leave them much choice when the average single is illegally downloaded 8 times for every legitimate sale.

Besides, even a super-slick Bacardi commercial couldn't take the edge off of Matt & Kim. "Red Paint," the second single from their November 2010 album Sidewalks, shows that the band haven't let success get to their head. Their music is still all about celebrating the good life, and Matt's childlike inflection evokes the simple pleasures of youth in every earnestly belted note. They throw caution to the wind, and like a boomerang it comes back loaded up with bouncy synth lines and choruses that you don't sing along with - you yell.

Matt and Kim - Red Paint


Matt and Kim are living the dream - a boyfriend-girlfriend couple who achieved legitimate musical success basically by building up a following on MySpace and sticking with their independent label. As the good times keep rolling, they've blessed us with another jam for the soundtrack to the lives we wish we had. Turn it up and yell along.