CD Odyssey Disc 95: Metric

A strange thing happened to me today. I woke up with severe laryngitis. Then, I was sent a very heartfelt article about how movie critic Roger Ebert can no longer speak, and read the article at the one brief time when I also, cannot speak.

It was a moving experience, and one thing that I noticed was Ebert felt most free when he was still able to write and express himself. Whatever happens to me through the years, I hope I never lose the ability to read and write until the end. As for today, voiceless and eager - what did I write about?

Disc 95 is...Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?

Artist: Metric

Year of Release: 2003

How I Came To Know It: I heard Metric do a song called "Portrait of a Girl" and bought that album a few years back. I wasn't a big fan, but Sheila really liked it, so I bought her this album (for brevity, let's call it "OWUWAYN?") for her birthday. For the record - she likes it.

How It Stacks Up: We have three Metric albums, which I think is all of their commercial releases. Of the three, I'd put "OWUWAYN?" as my least favourite.

Rating: 2 stars.

Funny how I was just saying how I can't seem to rate anything very low on the Odyssey. Well, here's one.

I think Metric is OK in small doses, but for the most part I like the small doses off their other two albums. Even those, I don't put on too often.

This particular album is a mix of pop, something resembling indie, but not quite indie, and the distinct overall sound of what you might expect at a generic dance club you visited when you were 20.

Certainly, the video for "Portrait of a Girl", which shows off the very elfin lead singer, Emily Haines, didn't hurt my decision to purchase this album.

This album is like that night club; you might have gone there for the girls, but you find yourself waiting for a good song to dance to more often than enjoying yourself.

Those good songs are there. I particularly like "Dead Disco" which bemoans the regurgitative nature of popular music these days. Generally true, and Metric does make a serious effort to sound different than the pack - mostly succeeding. Also in addition to being a fox, Emily Haines has a very distinctive and interesting voice (kind of like when you met that girl at the club who wasn't really that into you - but man was she fun to dance with!)

Anyway, sounding different from the pack is not enough, and more than once on this album, Metric's sound is ruined by arrangements that go from interesting, to overly busy to manic and unfocused and back again - often within the same song.

Also, many lyrics have that arty obscurity that passes for deep thought, but I find are deliberately obtuse as often as they are interesting. Case in point from the song "Succexy", which I presume is an anti-war song:

"All we do is talk static, split screens
As the homeland plots enemies.
Invasion - so succexy, so succexy, so succexy."

Yeah - I get the point, but these lines just need to be better. Also, note to Metric - "succexy" is not a word. "But Shakespeare made up words!" Emily might exclaim in indignation. That's true, but there is a big difference here - Shakespeare's words didn't suck.

It is not all bad though. I quite like certain sections of "Calculation Theme", such as:

"Tonight your ghost will ask my ghost
'Where is the love?'
Tonight your ghost will ask my ghost
'Who here is in line for a raise?'
Tonight your ghost will ask my ghost
'Where is the love?'
Tonight your ghost will ask my ghost
'Who put these bodies between us?'"

So, when Metric sticks to their melodies, and is clever, but not overly clever, this album is actually OK, but these moments are too infrequent to make this record anything but average. I'm hopeful their later entries in the Odyssey will be better.

Best tracks: Calculation Theme, On A Slow Night, Dead Disco.