Metric - Live It Out

I’ve loved Metric for some time now. When they opened up for Broken Social Scene a few years ago, I was hooked by Emily Haines' hip-shakes and head tosses. There is one word for that girl on stage, and it is "sassy." She could easily adopt this "front-woman for a rock band" thing we’ve all seen before-- “I might be a chick, but I can hang with the guys,”--but she doesn’t. She leads the band onstage superbly, and she can pour great emotion and tone into her voice that can just put these songs over the top. Maybe best, though, is that with such a strong leading female, they don’t resign to simply act like her backing band. Guitarist Jimmy Shaw and bassist Joshua Winstead are right up front dancing along, putting what they have into the show. Then you get home with the record, you listen to the lyrics a little better, and you know this girl has something to say. Subjects for lyrics have included groupies, children affected by war, sexism, “scene politics,” and lonely boys. I’m a sucker for sad songs with happy beats. Tracks like “Glass Ceiling” have this deep sarcasm, putting on a big smile and thinking nothing but “Fuck you, I wish you’d drop dead!” I think what I really like about this album is that I didn’t like it the first listen through. I wanted, like, a second disc to their first album, Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? Instead I got an album that’s a lot darker in a few ways. I would say it’s not until “Handshakes” that you get an outright dancey rock song. It wasn’t until about my third listen that suddenly everything clicked. Until then I was worried this was a “more mature” album (read: slower, less energy, not as good). Rather it’s a strong progression, showing the strength of a band whose members currently reside in two separate countries (Emily and Jimmy moved back to Canada last November, Joshua and Drummer Joules Scott Key elected to stay in San Francisco). I was going to say there are some great stand-out tracks, but next thing I knew I had listed over half the album, (which wouldn’t really make them stand out tracks now would it?). There is the weaving mono-synth of “The Police and the Private,” or maybe the whispered French on “Poster of a Girl,” or how about cheerleader-chant into to “Monster Hospital.” After only two weeks, I can say that Live it Out has moved into my top albums of the year. [www.ilovemetric.com]