With a career now in its fourth decade, Metric is a band that’s confidently followed its own path, seemingly dodging the various tumultuous changes in the music industry these past twenty years. Gaining traction as the post-punk revival was in full swing, the band’s sound quickly grew in ambition culminating with 2009’s ‘Fantasies’ and providing the stand-out track for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World the following year. While Metric is hardly the only naughties band to have dropped some killer singles and appeared on a trendy soundtrack, unlike many of their peers, they’re still going strong.
After playing it a bit too safe and slick for the majority of the past decade, ‘Formentera’ sees the quartet go for a more cinematic landscape. It’s a wise choice. While lead single ‘All Comes Crashing’ is an obvious selection for radio play, it’s the kind of synth-rock banger they can write in their sleep by this point. Where the album really shines is when they stretch out of the four-minute pop confines and let the songs breathe.
Opening with album highlight ‘Doomscroller,’ the band lay on a thick nocturnal groove as singer Emily Haines hypnotically paints a portrait of pandemic life. It’s not a million miles away from a Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross production and is bolstered by a deliciously distorted club chorus filled with angst. The title track is a more majestic affair, sweeping strings and a propulsive bass line creating a dream pop song that’s holding a grudge. It perfectly captures the universal longing for travel, normality, and the past when we were all cooped up.
The following ‘Enemies Of The Ocean,’ aims for a stadium-sized sing-a-long and earns it with its anthemic chorus. Haines’ singular vocals have always been the band’s not-so-secret weapon, and it’s here where they shine greatest, jumping from hauntingly beautiful to full-on rock goddess mode. However, much of the rest of the album just goes to highlight how it’s a game of two halves. You could literally compile a list of the numbers that are over five minutes as the standouts and ones under as pedestrian. The latter are all solid synth-rock stompers, but there’s nothing here to rival a ‘Help I’m Alive’ or a ‘Combat Baby.’ The flashes of experimentation and ambiance are truly impressive but all too rare.
With the freedom allowed by recording at guitarist Jimmy Shaw’s new studio, the band, alongside collaborators Liam O’Neil and Gus van Go, has started stepping into a more compelling direction. Let’s just hope that next time they throw caution to the wind and jump in with both feet.
6/10
Words: Sam Walker-Smart
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