Canada has been making a big deal over Metric of late and I was anxious to hear this new record, never having checked them out before. Then I played the record and I didn't get it. It wasn't bad. It wasn't good. It was just…there. I kept playing it because I wanted to see what everybody was freaking out about and I have to admit that I must have been experiencing some kind of mental breakdown because this is an excellent record.Metric recorded this new record in their hometown (of late) of Toronto and it features 10 cuts of weirdly wonderful new-wave-ish rock. Singer Emily Haines has a vocal delivery that makes the whole record sound like she singing the contents of her journal as she unloads her day's mental journeys. The record was nimbly produced by guitarist Jimmy Shaw and Metric also includes bassist Josh Winstead and drummer Joules Scott-Key.
"Poster of a Girl" is a tremendous cut, punctuated by (I guess) Haine's spoken French towards the end of the song. "Monster Hospital" is a quirky, almost in Yeah Yeah Yeah territory. The songs veer from quiet, modest pieces to aggressive-charged cuts like "Patriarch on a Vespa".
Edgy, well played, and wonderfully off kilter. Just the way I like it.
