Tuesday 30 December 2008
Hard to be soft tough to be tender
(photo: Jenny Lewis)
It’s underscored by a haunting, hollow buzz that conveys fear, uncertainty and nervous energy. The repeated lyrical motif, “my heart keeps beating like a hammer,” is a bit too literal next to the rhythmic pulse of the static drum track, but there’s enough variation in Emily Haines’ delivery and the song’s arrangement to keep things interesting. Although it’s fresh to my ears, “Help I’m Alive” is unmistakably the work Metric, and I for one am willing to lend a hand.
There’s a sense from this song that Metric are awakening from a dormancy, and reminding listeners and fans that they are still very much a going concern. That’s understandable, given that it was June 2006 when we last heard anything new from them. That was the release of the very first album they recorded, Grow Up and Blow Away, which predated their first ever actual release, Old World Underground Where Are You Now?, so actually we heard new old material that the band had originally deemed to be unrepresentative of their musical evolution. It all sounds a bit complicated, but the long and the short of it is that the last time we heard anything really new from Metric was back in September 2005, when Live It Out simultaneously scared and titillated us with it’s muscular, brainy pop. Sure, Haines has graced us with some gorgeous solo work in the interim, and bassist Josh Winstead and drummer Joules Scott-Key get an A for effort with their side band, Bang Lime, but 27 months is an awfully long time to be absent from the scene.
You would expect Metric might do more then just tap us on the shoulder to let us know they’ve returned, but making a scene has never been Metric’s mode of operation. Even their brashest hook-filled tunes, Metric never hits you over the head with their songs. There’s is a subtle seduction. They prefer to creep into your psyche, to get under your skin, and plant a seed that begins to grow and take root. Their songs bloom over repeated listens, revealing delicate flowers ringed by sharp thorns. Get can close enough to experience the sweet fragrance, but if you get too close, you’ll prick your finger on one of the sharp thorns. Metric have always existed as a dichotomy; dangerous, beautiful, subtle and bold.
There’s always pleasure in the pain when you’re dealing with Metric, so I’m anticipating that their as-yet-untitled new album is going to hurt so good. “Help I’m Alive” has begun to grow on me after repeated listens, and it has prompted me to go back and listen to their back catalogue some, which is always a good sign. If you go to the band’s official site, there’s a nice little mini-documentary clip featuring Emily Haines talking about the gestation and initial songwriting period for the new album, and based on what she says there alone, I’m thinking this is going to be a highlight of 2009.
MP3: Metric “Help I’m Alive”
Myspace: Metric
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 at 12:00 pm and is filed under MP3. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
