The Monthly Summary
Week I
Albums Out This Month
July
The Weekly Tour Round-Up
Summer-Fall
Interviews
Anberlin
Seeking Empire
Reviews
The Word Alive // Life Cycles
Gold Motel // Gold Motel
Metric // Synthetica
Playlists
Heroes For Hire, Carry Me Home, Luca Brasi
Sleeping With Sirens, Young London, Ballyhoo!
Hawthorne Heights, Life On Repeat
Road Blogs
Citizen
The Scene Aesthetic
You Blew It!
The Company We Keep
This Is Hell
Light Years
Luther
Contributor Blogs
Josh Terry
Jesse Cannon
Streams
The Word Alive // “Life Cycles”
Pull Strings // “Transparent”
Giants At Large // “Devils”
Behind The Booth
Heart To Heart
Storm The Beaches
Troubled Coast
Track-By-Tracks
The Word Alive // “Life Cycles”
With The Punches // Seams & Stitches
Echo Base // Keep Your Expectations
June Divided // Backbone
Gallery
Warped Tour
MxPx, I Am The Avalanche, Such Gold
Sponsored Shows
Turnover, Citizen, Light Years [Now-08/07]
With The Punches|Forever Came Calling|State Champs [07/13-08/11]
“I’m just as fucked up as they say,” sings Emily Haines, her voice pristine, explosive without an immediate amp of volume. It takes two minutes for drummer Scott-Key to cue in and Shaw to introduce his infectious guitar lead. It’s worth the wait. This first track prepares fans for what Metric seems to do best – not giving it up too soon. The album is nearly forty-five minutes long. The best forty-five minute drive fans will take since Fantasies.
It’s hard to separate “Youth Without Youth,” the album’s second track, from its bizarre and slightly haunting music video, which premiered on ilovemetric.com on June 12. Albino bunny rabbits, elderly women with shotguns, and stacks of large birthday cakes may not be the initial images elicited when listening to the track. Rather, the “Youth Without Youth” anticipates what tracks such as “Dreams So Real” and “Speed the Collapse” attempt musically.
James Shaw’s rung out, digital-delayed guitar leads hearken back to the album’s opener, yet the minor, murder-mysterious chord progression is a new twist in Synthetica. “Speed the Collapse” has an anthemic chorus and chorus outro that is unmatched by almost any other Metric song (although Fantasies was the album of anthems). Metric has mastered this subtle layer-upon-layer effect where piano may slowly surface as a major lead while Haines develops three simultaneous vocal hooks—no big deal, right?
A few tracks have their generic moments. “Breathing Underwater” may, at first, seem excessively U2 or Grey’s Anatomy opening-death-bed-scene. Yet Haines’ voice is undeniable. Her control over melodic structure combined with Scott-Key’s sheer drum talent transforms the musical quality of the track into something that surpasses the complexity of a medical soap drama.
Justin Bieber’s Believe topped the Billboard charts in its first week with over 373,000 copies sold while Kenny Chesney’s Welcome To The Fishbowl charted at number two back with 195,000 copies sold. fun.’s Some Nights moved up to the 17th spot with over 18,000 copies sold. Metric also landed remained on the charts for Synthetica with over 13,000 copies sold. Check out the top 25 Billboard spots this week below by clicking “Read More.”
Metric recently played their songs “Youth Without Youth” and “Breathing Underwater” live on Jimmy Kimmel. Check out their performance below by clicking “Read More.”
Metric’s Emily Haines and guitarist James Shaw recently performed a stripped down version of the band’s new song “Synthetica.” Check it out below by clicking “Read More.”
Usher’s Looking 4 Myself topped the Billboard charts in its first week with over 124,000 copies sold while Adele’s 21 moved back to the third spot with 60,000 copies sold. fun.’s Some Nights dropped to the 22nd spot with over 16,000 copies sold. Metric also landed in the 25th spot for the first week of Synthetica with 15,500 copies sold. Check out the top 25 Billboard spots this week below by clicking “Read More.”
Metric recently performed the song “Gimme Sympathy” at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in New York City. Check it out below by clicking “Read More.”
Check out an acoustic performance of Metric’s “Help I’m Alive” below by clicking “Read More.”
It’s June 12th, which means it’s release day. Let us know what new releases you’re listening to today and click “Read More” below to check out the album details and download information for all the great records coming out this week!
Metric have released a new music video for “Youth Without Youth.” You can watch it below by clicking “Read More.”
Metric have posted a behind the scenes video for their “Youth Without Youth” music video. Watch it below by clicking “Read More.”
