Matt and Kim Essentials

There may be just two of them, but together Brooklyn's Matt and Kim raise a heck of a ruckus. She hammers the drums while he sings and handles keys; both their beats and hooks aim for maximum party-starting impact. Their records are also full of emo yearning: "Daylight" is a wistful ode to youth and the open road. But they're just as influenced by dance music as they are by rough-hewn hip-hop. "Cameras" trades acid squiggle with dramatic horn blasts, "Lessons Learned" is a sleek synth-pop roller, and "Get It" brings '80s sampling and 808s to a swaggering boom-bap beat.