The Good: Bands that have been around for the better part of a decade always have a tough time remaining entertaining as styles change. Sometimes they stick with what they have been known for and are criticized for sounding old fashioned and lacking in creativity. Others change their style and are yelled at for betraying their fanbase. Others change their style, adding big orchestra violins and electronic instruments like so many others before them in a way that is entirely cliche. Matt and Kim have chosen a nice route this time with their new LP, or should I say EP. Four songs that are each different from one another and feel like the band took time to focus on less material with bigger quality than more material that lacks quality.
“Fall to Pieces” begins sounding like an indie track one would hear ten years ago around the time of Juno or Napolean Dynamite, something starring Michael Cera. It uses electronic keyboard sounds like something from that era as well, feeling as it were made within the bedroom rather than the studio. Combine this with lyrics describing love between oddballs in highschool, the track reminds me of HelloGoodbye’s “Here In Your Arms”.
“Let’s Run Away” is a more dance orientated, sounding again like an indie house track with a beat that nicely bumps around next to some pretty catchy “oohs”. “Please No More” is fast-paced punk electronic that is strikingly different to the other two tracks in a way that makes me admire the band for putting so much into four songs. This song particularly reminds me of something Tokyo Police Club would have drawn up. The final track “Haunting Me” is probably the best track on here, mixing acoustic guitar with a quirky electronic keyboard again. It switches between the male lead singer and his female counterpart who comes in during an acoustic breakdown. This musicianship reminds me a lot of the style Belle and Sebastian recently tried on their previous album.
As one comment on Youtube expressed rightly, this album sounds just like classic Matt & Kim but somehow still sounds very fresh.
The Bad: Though I like that these four songs were made with a lot of focus, to some people the length of this LP could make it overlooked.
Would I Listen Again: Yes
First Herd 