Metric – Fantasies review
Let me preface this review by saying that I’ve been obsessed with Metric/Emily Haines since high school. I once saw them three times in the span of 8 months. All my flickr photos of her have some sort of love-professing comment. I don’t care about the almost unanimous internet agreement on Emily being an uber-bitch. In short, I’m biased.
But don’t discount me yet. As a hardcore Metric fan, my inner fangirl is balanced out by high expectations of a band that’s kept me enamored for so long (yes, I consider it a long time, I’m fickle). I’ve been itching to hear something new – it’s been four years since Live It Out. Metric has officially been active for over a decade! They’re definitely not newcomers in the indie rock scene anymore and it seems appropriate for Fantasies to be self-released (in the States anyway, good ol’ Last Gang Records for us canucks).
I have mixed feelings about the opening track “Help I’m Alive”. I like the instrumentals overall including Emily’s voice but the lyrics leave much to be desired. Metric has always gone the simple-but-profound route but this one’s lacking the profound aspect. This deficit is made up for in “Sick Muse”. Great song, great lyrics. I quite like “Satellite Mind”. It’s a very emotional, sexually-charged piece. Unfortunately, it seems like Metric used up all their energy there so the next track “Twilight Galaxy” falls short.
“Gold Guns Girls” seems like it’s been done before. Crowd-pleaser? I like “Gimme Sympathy” save for the spelling of “give me”. It reminds me of Britney Spears and while there’s nothing wrong with crazy Britney, I like to keep my pop and indie pop separate. “Gimme Sympathy” is wonderfully sincere.
“Collect Call” starts off a bit bland but picks up. “Front Row” doesn’t sound like a Metric song to me. “Blindness” is another weak track. “Stadium Love” weirds me out. The distortion doesn’t seem to fit with the song.
Fantasies gets a 3.5/5 from me. I don’t know if the album will grow on me over time but it definitely doesn’t beat out any of Metric’s prior albums or Emily Haine’s Knives Don’t Have Your Back. There are definitely a few gems on there but on the whole, it’s a good thing this is their fourth album and not their first. I will totally go see them when they’re here though (oh god, Edgefest).
The album release date has been moved up to April 7th so keep your eyes peeled!
Metric – Sick Muse
Metric – Satellite Mind
Metric – Gimme Sympathy
Tags: album
Presumably the “gimme” is a Stones reference – given the rest of the song.
I’ve only been a moderate Metric fan up til now but this record sounds great.