Walking a thin line

“Sidewalks,” the third studio album from buddies Matt & Kim (Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino) — the high-strung, big-sounding power-pop duo straight from the Sesame Streets of Brooklyn — isn’t much of a surprise, with a lot of same earnestness as its predecessors.

Familiarly, “Sidewalks” is driven by the vehement punk drums of Schifino, but here the pair ambitiously set out to expand their sound with producer Ben Allen. Thanks to warm electronic fuzz, grander harmonies and more diversified instrumentation, they’ve accomplished that. That’s when things don’t go so well.

The middle part of the album operates at an anthemic, jaunting pace that hinders Johnson’s vocals; the similarly monotonous elements combine to make his voice a bland drawl.

“Red Paint” has more flash than any other track, with a chorus aided by a screeching, audacious electro sound that stands out against the warm intonation of most of the other effects on the LP.

Ironically, the piano, which was the epicenter of the duo’s modest hits like “Daylight” and “My Good Ol’ Fashioned Nightmare,” finds itself in indie purgatory here — the victim of indecision between crossover appeal and their punk-pop roots.

Lyrics fall in line with the duo’s usual candid self-deprecation and outlandishness but meanders to cringe-inducing sentimentality on “Northeast” and “Where You’re Coming From.”

“Sidewalks” fulfills elements in which the duo had been lacking, but its steadfastness holds Matt & Kim back from the crossover success they were hoping for.