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Monday 31 August 2009

Polaris 09 Shortlist: Metric Fantasies

I’m not really a pompous ass who likes to quote himself, but in preparing to write this piece I went back to read my initial review of Fantasies to see if my first reactions still hold true.  Forgive me the length of the following quote, but I think it encapsulates both Metric and the album in question.  Back in April I wrote:

Throughout their career trajectory, it’s never been black and white with Metric:  are they a mainstream act with indie credibility, or an indie act looking at making a name for themselves in the pop music world?  Too mainstream for the independent scene, too wild and rough for the pop world, Metric seem to have etched out an existence between the fantasy world of fame and stardom and the reality of working day in and out on the road, promoting albums and winning over new fans.  By all accounts, Fantasies should be the album that crosses over this divide and brings Metric fame and international acclaim.  It is full of single-worthy music that embraces beat and melody; dance and rock; indie spirit and pop ambition; fan worship and stadium love.  It sounds big, bold, and ballsy.  It’s also intricate, abstract, and artistic.  It’s the very dichotomy of their position in the Canadian and international music scene.  It neither makes a grab for the success that’s eluded them, nor alienates those who would thrust it upon them.

Now here we are, the last day of August, a mere 22 days before Polaris judges emerge from their imposed hole in the ground to decide the fate of the final 10.  Where do Metric stand?  Pretty much on the same ground they occupied when Fantasies first met the real world, but with a little more baggage.  Of all the nominated artists for this year’s Polaris Prize, Metric are they one’s who’ve born the burnt of abuse and scrutiny.  To paraphrase Emily Haines on the album’s opening track, Fantasies has been beaten like a hammer for being “predictable,” a “collection of singles” and “safe”.  Somehow this album received enough votes for a spot in the top 10, but no one seems to want to admit that they supported it or voted it in.  My votes for the final ballot are no secret, and while Metric didn’t count among the five (nor did they make my long list ballot), I think if I had spent as much time with the album prior to having to submit my ballot as I have since, Fantasies would have ranked high.  It is an album of single-worthy songs, but what the heck is wrong with that?  They’ve written an incredibly cohesive set of songs that can stand alone just as well as they do sitting side-by-side.  That’s no easy feat.  Is that off-putting?  For someone who listens to a lot of music (most of it crap) it can be a deterrent.  I know that it took me a while to go back and actually listen to the album as opposed to individual tracks, which is probably why I didn’t give the album as much credit as I did specific songs.  I actually commented to someone that if the prize was for a single track, “Gimme Sympathy” would have been at the top of my list, hands down.  But almost any track could fulfill that fantasy ballot: “Twilight Galaxy” is a simmering beauty, “Stadium Love” a bold balls-out breath-taker, and the beat-er-ific “Help I’m Alive” is one of Metric’s crowning career glories.

Fantasies is a dream come true: a universally appealing album made by artists who’ve not pandered to the lowest common denominator, a start-to-finish powerhouse that rocks, pops, swings, sways, and stays with you for days afterward.  In creating it, Metric have become a Canadian music fan’s dream team, too:  they’ve managed to simultaneously stay our favourite local darlings and grow into a potential world dominating powerhouse that will effectively erase memories of Nickelback from the collective consciousness of the rest of the globe.

Are they Polaris worthy?  Hell, yeah.  Will they get it on September 21?  My gut says no, but I dare the grand jury to prove me wrong.

MP3: Metric “Gimme Sympathy”
Myspace: Metric
Facebook: Metric
Twitter: Metric
Buy: Metric Fantasies

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by J. Di Gioia | 3 Comments »

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