Take a little new wave, mix it with some paranoid android and a whole lot of dance-party fun and you get an idea of what Metric’s all about.
This truly cosmopolitan foursome (Canadian by way of Brooklyn, Los Angeles and London) has been building a loyal following through the combination of a fabulous live show, relentless touring, and savvy street-level marketing for most of the new millennium and, as is the case with most other things (even half) Canadian, no-one has a bad thing to say about them.
The new soon-to-be release "Live It Out" shows that they’ve successfully been able to translate the essence of their live show to disc yet again, while also creating something more sonically adventurous than 2003’s OLD WORLD UNDERGROUND, WHERE ARE YOU NOW.
Instantly noticeable is the softening of the cynicism and political commentary that the band has never been afraid to mix with a good rocking time. The focus is more on the personal and less on the New World Order this time around (though sentiments like ‘only know what I’m told, fast asleep daydreaming’ etc, found on “Glass Ceiling” show that the band‘s outlook still isn’t exactly rosy).
From the frantic “Empty” straight through the next forty-one minutes, Emily Haines’ dramatic-yet-detached vocals sparkle on every track (particularily the one-woman Gainsbourg duet “Poster Of A Girl”), amply supported by the crafty but never overproduced guitars of James Shaw (keyboards, bass and drums are groovy too, but I’m suddenly at a loss for adjectives).
"Live It Out" projects the sense of confidence that Metric have always displayed live from first listen. Released on Last Gang/Universal, hopefully this sophomore effort, supported by the doubtless non-stop touring that is sure to follow around the world and in your neighborhood, will prove to the breakthrough that the band has been patiently and steadily bracing for, and most definitely deserves. |