(photo: Andrew Tolson)

There certainly is an air of guilty pleasure around Toronto’s Dragonette.  Like Metric, they kind of hang in an awkward balance between mainstream pop and indie rock, committing to neither while simultaneously flirting madly with both.  Provocative to say the least.

Before you dismiss my comparison as being based on the fact that both bands are led by like-minded females, take a look at either band’s latest release.  Metric’s Fantasisies is a great collection of single-worthy rock anthems that skate and glide across the dance-rock genre line with the ease and poise of a trained ice dancer.  Dragonette’s new album, Fixin’ to Thrill does the same, while keeping one pointed toe firmly planted on the dance side of things.  They’ve also packed the album with instantly classic songs that could trade places with each other on the Top 40 for the next year and a half.  Even so, no two are alike, which makes the listening experience that much more exciting, because one song doesn’t blend into the next.  For me, that’s the sign that a band has truly mastered their sound and honed their song craft.  A consistently great sounding album with individual song style and personality.

Fantasies may take itself a bit more seriously than Fixin’ to Thrill does, but Dragonette don’t exactly do vapid, mindless pop.  Recently, Martina Sorbara that she and the band (which features her husband, Dan Kurtz) “like to think of our music as free couples’ therapy. It’s a time where you love and hate your partner at the same time so your feelings become more complicated. We make sure that all goes into our work.”  She goes on to further say that bringing a sense of intimacy and intensity to their music is a way to not only connect with the audience but also give them something more than just mindless drivel.  “I’m really impressed by Lady Gaga, but I wish she had smarter lines than ‘I want to take a ride on your disco stick.’”  Just another way she and Emily Haines are much alike.

In case you haven’t caught on, Dragonette have a new album, and it’s called Fixin’ to Thrill, and I really, really like it.  It’s the kind of slinky, sexy disco rock that’s slammin’ at the club on Saturday night, and you can listen to at step class on Sunday.  Guilty or not, it’s pure pop pleasure through and through.

MP3: Dragonette “We Rule the World”
Myspace: Dragonette