Review Summary: An imbalanced see-saw of momentary fun.
It’s pretty easy to enjoy what Matt and Kim do. Whilst the former savagely handles the keyboard, the latter keeps time, pounding away on a small kit that still manages to bring the house down like it was Bonham-sized. Together, they’ve developed an energetic, synth-driven brand of indie pop which won them quite a few fans on their first self-titled go around back in 2006. This time around, however, the twosome have a greater ambition in terms of their music; evident in the title (
Grand) alone. Whilst there’s sadly not enough here to fully sanction the push that M & K are going for, there’s still adequate substance here to keep the believers interested…just.
What’s first noticeable upon
Grand’s first few listens is the focus on the beats and rhythms. Stomps, claps and finger clicks all weave their way throughout the record. This adds a different element of driving force behind tracks such as “Good Ol’ Fashion Nightmare” and “Spare Change”, subsequently increasing interest in the songs themselves. Kim’s drums have also stepped up this time around, utilising a variety of patterns ranging from frantic, crashing 2/4 (“I Wanna”, “Cinders”) to rollicking, dancey grooves (“Daylight”, “I’ll Take Us Home”).
These elements work well in expanding the Matt and Kim sound, which works unexpectedly well. It’s somewhat surprisingly, but moreso disappointing, that Matt finds difficulty in striking a balance with the percussive progression. Matt’s double role of vocalist and keyboardist struggle to make even half the progression that its musical counterpart makes. What’s worse is how badly this sticks out, given there aren’t any other musicians to cover it up.
Matt’s not a bad singer by a long shot. The problem, really, lies with his lack of multiplicity in his vocals. It’s rare to find any vocals here that aren’t from the boiling point of his range, often guffawed and always accented. Not assisting this deficiency is the undeniable fact that there is only so much you can do with an electronic keyboard- no matter how many settings it has. Again, it’s not an issue of skill but an issue of diversity and range that plagues the non-percussive side of Grand.
Despite Kim one-upping Matt, the two still work together rather well together- something which, one assumes, can only come from know each other mile long. There’s no better example of this than "Daylight", the opening track and lead single. The honky-tonk piano hook at its forefront is devilishly matched with synth-brass, snare rim funk and the best chorus the band have their name to that doesn’t feature the word “yeah”. Hands down, this is one of the best things one will find in the pop stratosphere in 2009, guaranteeing itself a spot on end-of-year lists already.
There are other tracks of "Daylight"’s ilk present on
Grand (including an “Outro Remix” of the song itself), but none of them manage to come close to it. This is indeed fairly worrying, but it’s something to be optimistic about. Matt and Kim have made a pleasing, yet visibly flawed sophomore in
Grand. This might not score the band legions of new fans, but hey; they probably won’t lose any, either.
