Review Summary: New wave, 90s, grunge, melodic rock
You’re down by the ocean. Black overcast. Hovering atop a cliff’s grassy surface that flows with gust rushing by your ears and blasting as it hits the trees. Down below, a million meters beneath your feet are rough waves crashing onto the shore. With each crash, you hear the rising roar of the sea collecting itself and blasting onto the steel rocks. No, it’s not sand. It’s not even regular rocks. That’s not hardcore enough. Soon the water eats away at the cliff. The cliff starts to crumble and dissolve in the sea, a mix of chalk disintegrating into the slate blue ocean. The deep swallowing all that was matter, and it sucks you into its opaqueness. You’re in freefall. But you’re not scared, no. Emily Haines’ voice booms in your mind and the intense garage bass that is Metric matches your heartbeat. It keeps beating like a hammer*. It beats like your swaying body falling inevitably into the rocks below. Your body matches her velvet chorus lyrics. The vocals run smoothly over the jagged, clamorous yet perfectly controlled rock. The rock is what gives Metric the sharp, edgy and extremely catchy rhythm. Together, they’re perfect. While you’re listening to Fantasies, you can’t decide on whether you want to jam out to the jagged, rough bass guitar and the drum set on fire, or chill out on Haines’ beautiful breathiness. It’s an experience indescribable, but let me try my best.
Fantasies is a complete encompassment. Its characteristic airy atmosphere of the band punctuates every single canorous treasure. The melody of each individual song seems to be the real gem in the masterpiece of the album, especially as it’s sung with the “oohs” and high notes to swoon for, brought to life from Haines’ soothing, resonant yet dark tone. You delve ten feet into it without even realizing it, and before you know it Haines’ is the voice that serenades you to sleep every night and the rhythm of the new wave 90s rock is the lifesource of your soul. Never washed out, never seeming to be repetitive, never lacking of vivacity. Fantasies is a synth-y battery filled with the ubiquitous electricity of rock to power the world. This synthesizer coupled with upbeat, grungy and dark theme of the album is reminiscent of steampunk future that you’d want to live in. I know this because everyone would want to live in a future filled with Metric.
As you’re falling through the air, thinking about the plunge into the hypothermic water, Metric is there to surround you into a piercing, most heightened experience of your life.
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