Happiness Hit! (or Matt & Kim Assault Depression)

I’ve never before been bludgeoned with palpable happiness. There is funny, there is moving, there is hilarious, but I’ve never really encountered “happy” – that state of overwhelming contendedness. The Danes supposedly have it in quantities much larger than the bulk of Americans, but it is my firm belief that Matt & Kim are trying desperately to toppled that monopoly. And from what I can tell it seems to be working.

My first Matt & Kim experience was with their “Daylight” music video, and I immediately found a smile stuck on my face. Seriously, their never-ending grins, pointlessly nonsensical lyrics and fun-loving style just manage to wash away even the most dour façade in a moment. Their most recent album – fittingly named “Grand” – is nothing but good-feeling nonsense conveyed on punk-inspired beats. Most of the songs are short – the longest only being three and a half minutes – giving an overall playtime of under a half hour for the 11 tracks present. Short, yes, but what a half hour!

It’s kind of hard to summarize Matt & Kim’s presentation using words because – as with most artists – it’s their style which sets them apart and makes them emotionally appealing. They both maintain a perpetual insider shit-eating grin in everything I’ve ever seen them photographed, and once you’ve witnessed them physically it becomes impossible to separate their persona from their music.

The closest I’ve come to verbalizing their essence is when I started referring to the playback of their album as “taking a happiness hit.” For myself and those I’ve spread the music to, the song represents a literal energy rush and soul cleansing two minutes and fifty one seconds. It’s like walking in to a Discovery Store – there’s so much off-the-wall entertainment at hand that you just kind of intrinsically relax and start thinking like a kid again. A third of the songs just immediately make you break a move, and the others evoke a head tick and an occasional mumbled lyric accompanied by a stupid, heart-warming smile.

For extra strength action I highly recommend the “Daylight” music video (once again embedding is disabled). It’s kind of a double-potency espresso-shot for the mind.

What to expect…

A soul boosting feeling of contendedness wrapped up in utter nonsense.

What should you take away?

Be happy, damn it!

What would I pair them with?

I don’t think alcohol flies with this band – as a depressant it seems to be completely out of place. I’m going to go with Naked Juice – pick your flavor.

Favorite song?

Daylight – no ifs, ands, or buts.