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Matt & Kim ready to strike Tempe on Lightning tour

Photo courtesy of Matt & Kim
Photo courtesy of Matt & Kim

Photo courtesy of Matt & Kim

The infinite surprises heard on Matt & Kim’s first self-titled album was the beginning to the Brooklyn-based duo’s steady climb to fame.

The album “Grand” delivered melodic gems such as “Daylight” and the keyboard-heavy “Good Ol’ Fashion Nightmare.” By the time “Sidewalks” was released in 2010, the band had gained a new level of confidence, churning out deeply witty lyrics cleverly hidden under party beats heard in tracks like “Cameras.” With the group’s fourth album “Lightning,” Matt & Kim prove its sound hasn’t grown up at all, but in a good way.

The couple has retained what made them indie-rock heroes from the beginning: the childish, youthful noise that combines Kim Schifino’s drumming, synthetic keystrokes and fast-paced melodies and Matt Johnson’s signature powerhouse voice.

Matt & Kim’s 2012 Lightning tour will stop at Tempe’s Marquee Theatre Tuesday, promising a show that could be just as wicked of a storm as its album name suggests.

Old crowd favorites are sure to be played with as much energetic fervor as when they were first released back in 2010.

The real treat will be hearing the band play songs from its newest album. Written and recorded in Schifino's and Johnson's old Brooklyn apartment, and released recently on Oct. 2, “Lightning” has already stirred up fan and critical acclaim.

The band’s infectious spirit shows up in just about every song on the 10-track album, something that will bode extremely well for both Matt & Kim and its audience at the show.

“Overexposed,” a head-banger if there ever was one, promises to be a pleaser. “I Wonder” will highlight the acoustics in the theatre, and Johnson's vocals will be drowned out by audience voices in “Not That Bad” due to its sing-along potential.

Hoards of ASU students will undoubtedly head to the Marquee Theatre early to see the band’s opener, Oberhofer, a band whose roots stem from the same town as its show cohorts. A participant at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Music Festival, the band is no stranger to live performance.

Oberhofer’s rhythmic melodies and unique instrumentals — it is fond of the glockenspiel — will add a welcoming contrast to Matt & Kim’s high energy.

Matt & Kim’s quirky get-up-and-go spirit and pure musical talent should be enough of a push to see the group live. If that’s not enough, check out the music video for “Let’s Go” on FunnyorDie.com before hitting up the Tuesday show.

Drawing on the band’s genuine likeability factor, the video, inspired by the popular book and website, “Awkward Family Photos,” portrays Matt and Kim in funny and borderline disturbing poses and attire.

A defining tour for Matt & Kim, which began the on Oct. 18 in New Orleans, La., and will wrap up in New Jersey next month, the band will make it’s first trip back to Tempe since it performed back in late September 2011 at Arizona Fall Frenzy.

It may not be the exact same event, but every performance by Matt & Kim elicits just that — a frenzy.

Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20.

 

Reach the reporter at lily.lieberman@yahoo.com


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