Matt & Kim, 'Grand'

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Matt & Kim Grand
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ESSENTIAL "Daylight"

Few descriptions can activate the force fields of cutesy-indie-rock skeptics faster than "twee," "Brooklyn," and "coed duo." And those skeptics are probably gonna want to sit out the second effort from twee, Brooklyn, coed duo Matt & Kim. But if you've spent time sitting outside an all-ages rock club or haunting a vegan video game cafe, or wherever it is kids congregate nowadays, this cavalcade of minimalist organ and drum pop that flits and twits between skewed, sugar rush abandon ("Daylight") and romantic, robotic chanting ("I'll Take Us Home") will read like blueprints for kicking back in the city. Heaving strings on the climax of the hurtling "Cutdown" only add to the cinematic, indie-kids-on-the-loose feel. But for the most part the album is a galloping goof, with vocalist and keyboard player Matt Johnson hamming his way through a series of rousing blog-pop gems. With more traditional rock instrumentation, tracks like "I Wanna" might come off as punk rock, but as is, it sounds like they're having too much fun for any sort of angst to bleed through. (Out Jan. 20) LUKE O'NEIL