4REAL
“I’m just as fucked up as they say…”
Canadian band Metric is a true-blue indie artist in every sense of the word. Formed around the nucleus of singer-keyboardist Emily Haines and guitarist Jimmy Shaw in 1998, Metric has made its distinctive music on its own terms. Synthetica is the band’s 5th album and quite possibly its best yet.
Whilst Metric‘s sonic approach is very much centered upon the influence of 80s post-punk/new wave, there is an almost 60s/70s old school sensibility in the way Haines and Shaw view the songwriting and recording process. This is clearly evident from the attention and care given to the production values and the nuances found in each and every track.
Thus, lyrical and sonic references to classic pop culture pepper the excellent songs on this powerful new album. How else to describe progressive rock intros that morph into Beatlesque chord progressions (on the opening “Artificial Nocturne”) or the Kraftwerk-inspired vocoder-infused garage rock (on the first single “Youth Without Youth”).
But not to worry, none of these intelligent nuances takes away from the sheer joyful indie pop-rock that even the shallowest hipster can simply bop along to (the dance-oriented “Breathing Underwater”, a prime example) or provide a dark undercurrent for the more serious young listener out there (the throbbing “Dreams So Real”).
So Synthetica has something for everyone – whatever your musical preferences may be – smart, passionate, energetic, hip – like Metric itself, you might say…
Catch Metric Live in Singapore on 31st July at the Esplanade Concert Hall. Tickets available from SISTIC.
Power of Pop will be covering Metric‘s earlier albums in the days to come. Stay tuned!
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