Fantasies

Metric
Fantasies
6 out of 10

No, this is not a salacious post of my dreams and erotic imaginings, as exciting as that sounds. It is the latest cd from the band Metric. Led by vocalist and synth player Emily Haines, Metric have always brought together a potent blend of power pop, synth pop, new wave, and dance rock. Their earlier releases had a rough and shambling quality to them that evoked the Brooklyn by way of Canada scene that they found themselves lumped in with. Now, Haines and company have tried a more mature approach and have delivered a polished and clean sounding cd that plays to their strengths and opens the door for greater commercial success. But does that translate to good music? I think this is a good solid album, but it is definitely a stop gap release, which hopefully means that the next release will be a better representation of the band's strengths.

Don't get me wrong, there are some great singles on this release, in particular, "Satellite Mind," which almost sounds like it could be a Kelly Clarkson track. It has a driving beat and great mood to it and some pretty intense lyrics about a relationship gone sour.



The first single "Gimme Sympathy" also shows off their new power pop sheen. Garbage only wishes they could come up with a song this effortless.



Given the right marketing and push, it is easy to see songs like "Help I'm Alive" and "Sick Muse" being massive radio hits. They are polished to a shiny buff and have killer hooks, which show off Metric's debt to artists like The Cars, Curve, Missing Persons, and Blondie.





That's not to say that all the songs are hard driving pop songs. Metric slows things down on several occasions with some nice ballads including "Twilight Galaxy," "Collect Call," and the standout "Blindness."



My main criticisms about Fantasies is that most of the up-tempo songs have a similar quality and makes it difficult to distinguish between them. Same thing with the ballads. And aside from the caustic lyrics of "Satellite Mind," the rest of the songs are fairly nondescript lyrically.

Most of my friends claim my music taste runs a little too close to the odd and weird. But I really don't think that is the case. I enjoy a good song regardless of genre or specifics. I don't discriminate just because a song is more "pop." I just have higher standards when a song is "pop." I want something with a little intelligence and not something that is boring and cliched. Metric does not fall in the boring or cliched category, but I wish they had stretched just a little bit more.