Metric's Synthetica

While most American audiences may know Metric as the band from the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim Versus the World¹, they’ve actually been releasing music steadily since 2003. Emily Haines of Metric has said that Synthetica “is about forcing yourself to confront what you see in the mirror when you finally stand still long enough to catch a reflection. Synthetica is about being able to identify the original in a long line of reproductions. It's about what is real vs. what is artificial." In the follow-up to 2009’s Fantasies, Haines and co. look deep within themselves while still expanding on the sound that made Fantasies a success. Read on for my track-by-track analysis of their new album, Synthetica, coming out Tuesday.

The album starts with a synthesizer behind Emily Haines’ haunting vocals, singing about how she’s “just as f---ed up as they say.” About two minutes in, the rest of the band starts playing. They managed to keep the song just haunting enough, while also making it kind of catchy. Overall, this song is the perfect choice to open the album, as it has the energy it needs to catch the attention of the listener, and it just plain sounds like the start of something big.

The next track is the first single from the album, “Youth Without Youth.” To be honest, when I first heard this song, I didn’t think it was anything special. To be fair, the first time I heard it, I was in a foul mood and I was listening on sub-par speakers. I really love this song. It has a dance-groove feel to the instrumentation, and Haines snarls the verse in such a way that you can’t help but bounce your head along with this song that, if it had to be described in one word, would be described as “cool.”

“Speed the Collapse” comes next. This song was the second song available to listen from the album. I can see this song used as the background of a chase scene on horses in like a modern western. I don’t know why, that’s just how it feels to me. It’s like Muse meets Paramore meets Metric's last album Fantasies.

“Breathing Underwater” is easily my favorite on the album. It starts off beautifully, as the bass and guitar mesh over a drum beat very cleverly constructed by Joules Scott-Key not to overpower the delicate sound. Every time Emily Haines sings, “Is this my life?” to start the chorus, I have to start bobbing my head, at least. James Shaw’s guitar riff to exit the chorus is, while repetitive, a perfect fit for the song—especially how it sounds over the crazy keyboard part that is difficult to hear without headphones. The song also builds really well, as some instrumental part gets added or expanded upon with each pass. I also love the imagery presented in the chorus: “Is this my life? Am I breathing underwater?”

The fifth track, “Dreams So Real,” is only two and a half minutes long, and the most of that is just a synth sawing single notes with Haines singing over it. It works, mainly because Metric has, as a band, worked on perfecting that style, but the song is not one of my favorites on the album.

The song that follows, however, I find very intriguing. The verse is so weird that I’ve heard the song like at least twenty times and I can’t decide whether or not I like it. But the chorus is so awesome. Emily’s falsetto is at its best in the chorus as she sings about how she’ll cover up all the things the subject seems to want to keep secret. It’s a fairly simple song that works mainly because none of them try to overdo it and turn it into something it’s not. I love at the end when they layer the bridge vocals with the chorus vocals.

“The Void” starts out with noises that make you think the song is going to be some sort of trance music. The noises are never heard again, which I think is weird, but it works for the beginning. The chorus vocals are done in a call and response style, and it’s great, mainly because it’s done over very strong instrumentation, including a straight up superb bass line by Joshua Winstead. I love the line in the chorus “All night, sing along with the band and you’re losing your voice”

The title track comes next, and it’s just an awesome alternative rock song. Haines snarls the verse here again over driving instrumentation. The transitions from verse to chorus and back are so simple, and so effective. This is a great song, and the album deserves to be named after it.

“Clone” sounds to me like a song No Doubt would have released that nobody ever heard on the radio. The lyrics sound like a memory of a theme park, perhaps something one of her parents told her once. It’s a slower song, and a strange choice to follow “Synthetica.” It’s an okay track that I might have left for a B-side.

The next track, “The Wanderlust,” features vocals from Lou Reed on the chorus. I was surprised when I heard it at first, as Metric is not known to have vocalists other than Emily Haines performing any lead vocals on their tracks. It almost sounds like a song by the band that did “Barbie Girl” (Aqua) or the band that did “Love Shack” (the B-52s), although with more talent.

“Nothing But Time” makes sure the album closes just as hauntingly as it starts. With a repetitive base synth part that is built upon as the song goes on, the song gets deeper into its trance. For such a simple song, it’s way too addictive to be written off with other songs of equal simplicity. This song closes the album right.

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To wrap it up, I love this album. Metric’s Synthetica is a work of art. It’s fantastic from start to finish. The “dull” moments can only be called dull in comparison to the standouts on the album. I was worried I wouldn’t like this album. I wasn’t crazy about anything of Metric’s before their breakout Fantasies, and I was worried they’d revert. But they just grew. This album is big for them. I can see Metric breaking out in a big way in the future. I’m seriously looking forward to their next album. Let me know what YOU think! Comment below.

¹ They did not perform the song in the movie, but they wrote it and it was re-recorded with the actress Brie Larson singing for the scene in the film.

Synthetica is available in three formats.

Standard Edition: the 11 track album as a compact disc + high quality digital download on release date, single “Youth Without Youth” immediately, and 5 bonus Reflections tracks.
[Note: this version has all of the booklet text printed backwards and includes a small mirror for reading it]

Digital Edition: the 11 track album as high quality mp3 files.

Vinyl Edition: the 11 track album on white vinyl discs + high quality digital download on release date, single “Youth Without Youth” immediately, and 5 bonus Reflections tracks.

To buy Synthetica, visit http://ilovemetric.com/store/