Review Summary: Fantasies is a great pop album, but hindered by some awful lyrics.
Owning a restaurant is a fragile thing. From the kitchen to the front-of-house, there are several components that keep a restaurant afloat, rather than sinking in the sea. A genre that follows a similar path is pop. A fragile genre, pop oftentimes goes to hell. Whether this be due to a singular flaw that rears its ugly head one too many times, or because of a set of problems depend entirely on the album in question. In the case of
Fantasies, one major flaw hinders the album as a whole. However, Metric's
Fantasies still comes out as a great album with all the hooks you could ever ask for.
From the overtly poppy “Gimme Sympathy” to the rock-tinged “Sick Muse”, Metric show that they still can create some of the most perceptible melodies around. On the former track, the 4/4 time signature melds perfectly with electronic noises to make an irresistible song. The latter makes use of a somewhat gauzy and somber set of rhythms and a cheery chorus. The pre-chorus to “Gold Guns Girls” follows a similar path. Emily Haines slips into a partial spoken-word section that piques the listener's interest. However, there are several interesting aspects of Metric's sound. “Gimme Sympathy” utilizes a vintage rave-up method and endows their instruments with an innocent yet enthralling character. This character transfers into the falsettos found on “Help I'm Alive” excellently, and never really falters. The poppy yet intriguing musicianship rarely ever becomes annoying, unlike the lyrical content.
From the ever so cliché, “I'm higher than high, lower than deep” to the cringe-worthy “everybody just wanna fall in love. Everyone just wanna play the lead”, the lyrical content here is highly immature. The lyrics oftentimes take large amounts away from potential indie-pop wonders. “Sick Muse” and “Gold Guns Girls” are prime examples of this unfortunate occurrence. These happenings are numerous, and overall make an otherwise excellent album just great.
Overall, Metric's latest is an enjoyable listen. Each song adds something new to the album as to not come across as stale. Whether this inclusion be a set of synth notes or a simplistic bass line, the musicianship is as intriguing as the vocals. The high-pitched vocals by Haines are a great inclusion, and make these ten tracks all the more perceptible. However, the lyrical content takes away from this otherwise excellent achievement and lowers its quality by a small amount. This album's biggest hindrance does not make the album a major flop; no, the album is still great. It's just obvious that Metric can do better.
