On its first full-length album--2003's OLD WORLD UNDERGROUND, WHERE ARE YOU NOW?--Metric effectively lays down its sonic template, mixing energetic indie-rock with calculated New Wave-influenced pop. Fronted by charismatic vocalist/keyboardist Emily Haines, who, along with guitarist James Shaw, is also a member of the renowned Broken Social Scene collective, the band boldly veers from the atmospheric, keyboard-driven "Hustle Rose" to the revved-up "Combat Baby" to the morbidly giddy "Dead Disco." Though the latter two songs are the disc's most immediate stand-outs, the velvet-voiced Haines and company also offer up subtler material, most notably the chiming opener, "IOU" and the spare, plaintive closer, "Love Is a Place" (which recalls Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Modern Romance" ). While this record is arguably eclipsed by its accomplished 2005 follow-up, LIVE IT OUT, OLD WORLD UNDERGROUND still serves as an ideal introduction to Metric's fascinating sound.
Professional Reviews
Uncut (4/04, p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[W]onderfully succinct pop....A triumph."
CMJ (7/21/03, p.6) - "...Right on the pulse of contemporary cool..."
