Metric

Live It Out

(Last Gang)

Record Review by Amber Henson

Metric’s sophomore effort, Live It Out, is a noble one.  The band has kept their old sound, but also moved onto the next level of that sound.  But...what is that sound?  Too energetic to be indie rock.  Too weird to be pop.  Too techno to be rock.  Lead singer Emily Haines loves to repeat herself, so…modern punkish, perhaps.  If you want to hear music that makes you get up and start dancing 80s style, arms waving everywhere, then this is the band for you.

Guitarist Jimmy Shaw tries a little Sonic Youth intensity on this record, while bassist Josh Winstead and drummer Joules Scott-Key are there when you need them.  As for Haines, there’s no one quite like her, although there are certain similarities with P.J. Harvey, if only in breath and intensity.  On the fifth track, “Poster of a Girl,” Haines tells us how she feels “Like just a baby / Portrait of a lady / Poster of a girl.”  There’s something very smart about that line; a lady would have a portrait, but a girl would have a poster.  Perhaps she goes a little overboard later in the song when she whispers in French, but it’s still one of the best songs on the album.

The band backs her up with strong bass lines and good beats, attempting to create a wall of sound.  Shaw produced the album (their first full-length was done by Michael Andrews, while Shaw helmed the band’s earlier EP) and his influence shows.  Haines is all over the keyboards on the opening track, with pounding solos lasting for minutes and really getting listeners pulsing.  Shaw himself is more prevalent, especially on “Patriarch on a Vespa,” where there’s just a full-on guitar solo 3/4th of the way through.

Live It Out isn’t made up of one-third sad, slow, emo ballads like the band’s first record.  Aside from the second-to-last track, “Ending Start,” everything rocks.  And everything is longer; their debut was over as soon as it started, with the songs averaging three minutes.  On Live It Out, the average is five minutes.  With Old World Underground, listeners felt like they were wandering into a club where they weren’t supposed to be, and the energy was in-your-face and surprising.  With Live It Out, everything is more rehearsed and better polished—and it’s for you, not for them.

The first single was “Monster Hospital,” which is more on the screechy rock side than the bulk of the tracks.  The highlight is “The Police and the Private,” which is heavy on keyboards and combines the best parts of their slow songs with something that listeners can really feel and tune into.  It’s a melancholy song—not sad, but inspiring.

Metric can’t fully be understood, though, until one goes to see them in concerts.  Check the band’s website for dates, and be sure to get there early to stand up front.  Emily’s hot.