Matt and Kim

The Brooklyn-rooted pair Matt and Kim, with Matt handling keys and vocals while Kim manned the drums, launched into high-energy dance punk during the first years of the 2000s before crossing into wider recognition in 2007 via the track “Daylight,” whose clever clip turned it into an online phenomenon. Sustaining that visibility, the duo issued further albums and striking videos that freely blended punk-pop, hip-hop, and mainstream radio fare.

Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino began a relationship in 2002 during their time at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute; after collaborating on art projects for a few years, they chose to form a band. Kim took up drumming, Matt unearthed a pair of vintage keyboards, and the two started composing material drawn from punk and new wave yet charged with their own buoyant spirit. They performed throughout Brooklyn, building a loyal following that relished dancing to their sound. Their debut release, the To and From EP, appeared in 2005. Indie label I Heart Comix signed them after detecting the surrounding excitement. The self-titled album was recorded swiftly in California amid an ongoing tour and came out in 2016. Additional touring ensued, with appearances at Lollapalooza and the Siren Music Festival.

The next album was captured meticulously at Matt’s childhood home in Vermont across nine months as the duo aimed to create a standalone listening experience rather than merely a document of their live show. Issued in 2007 on the Fader label, it yielded the hit single “Daylight” and a “Lessons Learned” video in which the pair stripped naked amid a crowded Times Square. Their lively, melodic songs aligned with the needs of numerous television programs, video games, and commercials, appearing in Bacardi spots, Community episodes, and the NBA Live 10 soundtrack. Their following album marked their first collaboration with an external producer, Ben Allen, previously associated with Gnarls Barkley and Animal Collective.

Sidewalks, released in 2012, shifted direction by emphasizing programmed drums and electronic, club-oriented material over the earlier frantic dance punk. It became their highest-charting set, reaching the Billboard Top 40 and securing stadium dates alongside blink-182 and My Chemical Romance. Returning to self-production, the band completed their fourth album, Lightning, after six months of intensive work and issued it in late 2012. The record revived the earlier stripped-down, punk-inflected approach while introducing greater variety and closing with a piano-led near-ballad. The duo toured extensively throughout 2013, supporting Passion Pit and appearing on the summer festival circuit. Late that year Fader put out Lightning Remixes, featuring reworkings of Lightning tracks by 8-bit warriors Anamanaguchi, Bonde do Rolê, and DJ Venom, among others.

For their subsequent album, New Glow, released in 2015 by Harvest Records, the pair again enlisted outside producers, this time Lars Stalfors and Jesse Shatkin, to shape a collection that integrated more hip-hop and radio-pop elements than before. The set once more reached the upper tier of the Billboard album chart, prompting another extended run of live dates. While performing at Coachella in 2016 they recorded the four-song EP We Were the Weirdos, issued on Fader. The touring continued until Kim sustained a serious knee injury during a stage routine at Mexico’s Vaiven Festival in March 2017. The pair canceled shows while she underwent surgery and an extended recovery, which they chronicled in a series of YouTube videos. Once she resumed drumming, they composed a group of introspective yet uplifting songs and began work on their sixth album, ALMOST EVERYDAY. Produced by Matt and Lars Stalfors, it includes guest vocals from Santigold, Kevin Morby, Kevin Ray of Walk the Moon, Dave Monks of Tokyo Police Club, King Tuff, and Mark Hoppus, all joining Matt and Kim on the choruses. Fader released the record in May 2018 while the band, predictably, continued touring.