Matt and Kim - New Glow

Matt and Kim
New Glow
2015

Pop anthems have always been Matt and Kim's bread and butter. Time after time they have pumped out catchy Indie-Pop records that can be played in any nightclub or at your local dive bar to get the hipsters moving. New Glow is no different and therein lies the problem. I've never been a big fan of saying artists have to move forward and grow with each new album. I think it is perfectly fine to put out a similar album stylistically if the music is good and still has some depth. New Glow suffers not only from being almost identical to everything Matt and Kim have done in the past, but also from being altogether hollow. Their subject matter at times is almost laughable. "Hoddie On" is about exactly what it says, doing things with a hoddie on. It would be different if this song went somewhere or meant something, but in the end it is just a silly song about a piece of clothing.

With a run time of 28 minutes this record feels like it thrown together quickly just to get something out there. There are a couple standouts like "Can You Blame Me" and "Stirred Up" but they really aren't at a level that I would expect from Matt and Kim. It seems like this record may end up being a placeholder for Matt and Kim rather than something that they can look back on fondly. If you really want to hear something great from them check out "Daylight" that song will let you know what they are capable of when they are at their highest level.

5 out of 10