I started following this group as a joke, calling their alter-ego, The Clash at Demonhead, (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) my favorite indie band.
Now I've been a fan of the actual band for long enough to comfortably accuse them of selling out.
View attachment 9773
Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? - Metric (2003)
In the years since I began following this band entirely because of Envy Adams' rendition of Black Sheep, I have noticed a shift to a more mainstream accessibility to their sound. Now, I am the last to claim any kind of authority in authentic, underground, indie music, and I still can rock out to their album I picked last time, which I would consider a much more radio-friendly approach. But there's something I enjoy about their rough-around-the-edges, slightly harsh and bratty "debut" album.
There is a psuedo-punky twinge of angst and anger in the production value, songwriting, and Emily Haines' vocals on Old World Underground that has, to my ears, been glossed out as the band found succexy ... er, success.
That's actually a perfect example. Succexy is about wars fought for TV ratings: a college freshman know-it-all simplification of a complex subject with an aggressively awkward title. Yet, I find it charmingly fun in its earnestness.
Also compare the suddenly blonde warbler Haines of today, who's become the focal point of promoting the band, to the raw punky girl rocking with the guys in Dead Disco.
I love Metric and much of their work as a whole, which made this choice a lot tougher than I would have thought. But I really like looking back at where they started*
Tracklist
1."IOU"
2."Hustle Rose"
3."Succexy"
4."Combat Baby"
5."Calculation Theme"
6."Wet Blanket"
7."On a Slow Night"
8."The List"
9."Dead Disco"
10."Love Is a Place"
*This is their second album, but released first. Their first album was released third. Get it?
Now I've been a fan of the actual band for long enough to comfortably accuse them of selling out.
View attachment 9773
Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? - Metric (2003)
In the years since I began following this band entirely because of Envy Adams' rendition of Black Sheep, I have noticed a shift to a more mainstream accessibility to their sound. Now, I am the last to claim any kind of authority in authentic, underground, indie music, and I still can rock out to their album I picked last time, which I would consider a much more radio-friendly approach. But there's something I enjoy about their rough-around-the-edges, slightly harsh and bratty "debut" album.
There is a psuedo-punky twinge of angst and anger in the production value, songwriting, and Emily Haines' vocals on Old World Underground that has, to my ears, been glossed out as the band found succexy ... er, success.
That's actually a perfect example. Succexy is about wars fought for TV ratings: a college freshman know-it-all simplification of a complex subject with an aggressively awkward title. Yet, I find it charmingly fun in its earnestness.
Also compare the suddenly blonde warbler Haines of today, who's become the focal point of promoting the band, to the raw punky girl rocking with the guys in Dead Disco.
I love Metric and much of their work as a whole, which made this choice a lot tougher than I would have thought. But I really like looking back at where they started*
Tracklist
1."IOU"
2."Hustle Rose"
3."Succexy"
4."Combat Baby"
5."Calculation Theme"
6."Wet Blanket"
7."On a Slow Night"
8."The List"
9."Dead Disco"
10."Love Is a Place"
*This is their second album, but released first. Their first album was released third. Get it?