Metric
Synthetica (2012)
My knowledge of Metric comes from two places - firstly, their song Combat Baby was in Rock Band 3, and I found it to be a pleasant, if standard, indiepop tune. Secondly, some of the members of the band are also in Broken Social Scene, another Canadian indie group who are basically a supergroup who reject the term 'supergroup'.
Synthetica is their fifth studio release, and received a great deal of acclaim on its release, making several 2012 best of lists, being nominated for a Polaris Prize and receiving solid critical appraisal. I decided to check it out to see if the band were further deserving of exploration, and whether this is one more recent release I can recommend to you, the fine readers.
The Album
In short, no. I cannot recommend this album wholeheartedly.
To expand on that, allow me to explain.
Synthetica is, for the most part, fairly pleasant indie synth pop. It takes no risks, it doesn't seek to reinvent the wheel. It does what it needs to do well.
It's just not that exciting, though. It's nice music, and I didn't mind the album, but I found myself wandering halfway through because it simply wasn't grabbing my attention.
It wasn't all bad; opening track Artificial Nocturne is a gorgeous tune, droning (but pretty) synthesisers making up the bulk of the sound, with more traditional instruments providing support; meanwhile, singer Emily Baines's voice is multitracked and drenched in effects. This is a fairly good summary of the album's production, but at least here it's interesting, and occasionally beautiful. Following that is Youth Without Youth, a real standout for its stomping rock riffs and beats, and a very bleak lyric about the hopelessness of modern youth. Synths are still there but provide support, for once, rather than being the centrepiece. The title track is the best of the synthpop tunes. The guitar riff is driving, the synthesiser is paired with the vocal melody beautifully, and the song is well structured (a slow breakdown section, featuring acoustic guitars and vocals with light, ethereal synth chords, is a great little breather). I also quite liked Lost Kitten with its K-pop stylings; Baines adopts a girly high-pitched vocal delivery, the sound is stripped back and there's even some xylophone percussion.
Beyond that though, it's as I said at the start; pleasant, without being outstanding; nice, not interesting. Truth be told, after reading the press it got, I was a little disappointed.
The Verdict
Metric don't suck. They are a competent indie band who produce perfectly competent music. That's fine, and there's always a place for competency in music; it can't all be about artistic genius. A diet of Kurosawa and Bergman films is great, but every so often you just wanna watch some Schwarzenegger flicks and enjoy a dude killing other dudes with circular saw blades.
Metric are like that. They're the Arnold Schwarzenegger hiding in the roof of a hut spearing dudes with a pitchfork of music. They're the potato chips of music - good for snacking every so often, bad for you if you consume too much.
Synthetica is decidedly average, and I don't know if that's worse than being utterly terrible, because at least terrible music makes you consistently feel something. This just doesn't.
My rating: ** and a half
Standout Tracks
Synthetica
Youth Without Youth
Lost Kitten
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