The Brooklyn-based electronic dance-punk duo Matt and Kim released their latest album “Almost Everyday” in May 2018. This album marks the duo’s sixth studio album. The two — Matt Johnson on keys and Kim Schifino on drums — have consistently released music since 2009 and the pair have toured since they first met in college.
“Almost Everyday” was written as Schifino faced recovery following an onstage injury in 2017. This time of recovery sidelined the pair from touring, but it also pushed them to write a more personal album. “The spirit of [Schifino’s] recovery made the album a little bit darker than what we usually do, but we were not gonna mess up her vision and make a super upbeat album,” Johnson told the Chronicle. “But creating the album was great therapy and the songs are still very dance-around-able.”
While Matt and Kim are best known for their beat-driven anthems and dance-ready hits, this album introduces a new side of the band. With “Almost Everyday,” listeners can see more personal and emotional realities for these musicians. Throughout the album, the two confront themes of mortality and living in today’s modern era. “The album isn’t so much about ‘it’s all over,’ but more about appreciating what you have before it’s gone,” said Johnson. “My entire adult life, I’ve been touring and in the band, and this year was the only year we had almost no shows. So it was a vision of what it will be like when it’s all over, so it’s made us appreciate what we have even more.”
With both personal and political influences, “Almost Everyday” has a more intimate effect as it invites listeners into the emotional intricacies within Johnson and Schifino’s relationship. Speaking about the track “Happy If You’re Happy,” Matt explained, “I wrote this song for Kim because I realized I cannot be happy unless she’s happy. We’ve rarely brought up our relationship for the last however many years of making music, but it finally felt like something I wanted and needed to talk about — and those are the honest moments that, as a listener, I connect to the most, so I don’t know why we avoided talking about those things for so long.” As they have introduced more personal topics within their music, Matt and Kim have continued to grow as both a musical duo and as a couple. Yet even with a more intimate background to the album, their music still retains a unique upbeat and “dance-able” sound.
In addition to the new personal elements of “Almost Everyday,” the album also brought in several other contributing artists who are friends of Johnson and Schifino. Guest vocalists on the album include Mark Hoppus from “blink-182,” Kevin Morby, Santigold, SWMRS, Flosstradamus, King Tuff and more. For Johnson, indie music is usually a much more isolated space than other types of genres that involve more people in the production process. “So, to get friends of ours to add a little bit of spice and to sing songs that we had written, with us and bring it all together was really cool and just fun,” he said.
This fall, Matt and Kim will embark on a tour across the U.S. as they celebrate the 10 year anniversary of their sophomore album “Grand.” Their shows deliver high energy performances, and they have won the MTVU Woodie Award for “Best Live Performance.”
Matt and Kim are excited to return to Utah after an excellent time with their previous performance in Salt Lake City. “The whole room was bouncing near the end of the show, and the energy was so strong. That’s what we want from a show, so I really hope that they bring their energy.”
Matt and Kim will be performing at the Ogden Twilight Concert Series on August 2. You can purchase tickets here.
