Metric
Live It Out
Available October 4, 2005
Label: Last Gang Records

Building on the success of 2003’s Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?, Canadian 4-piece Metric’s second LP, Live It Out, is a must-buy. I’m first to admit I tend to shy away from female lead singers, but Emily Haines’ lyrical approach and delivery has kept Live It Out in the front of my CD case for a week now.

A marriage of Sonic Youth, Syd Barrett, Sleater-Kinney and The Kills, Metric is a nu-new wave indie-pop group poised to foster the next indie-chic sound to come from the underground with this record, and the world is in for a surprise. They’ll find that Haines has a remarkable talent for lyrics and vocals that progress chickey punk rock into a whole new genre. And the man behind the tunes, Metric co-founder/guitarist Jimmy Shaw — the Spider to Haines’ Benetar — has written some great hooks on this album, and bassist Josh Winstead and drummer Joules Scott-Key help set the tone for one hell of an album. But again, it’s the lyrics and delivery that make this album great.

Although “Monster Hospital” is the single, my favorite is the third track, “Handshakes”:
Say you wanna get in, And then you wanna get out, When you get the money,
To buy yourself a castle… Buy this car to drive to work; drive to work to pay for this car

Try listening to this track while you’re driving to work on an early Monday morning with the CHECK ENGINE light on, and you’ll see what I mean. Metric is on a huge North American tour right now through the end of October, then head to France for seven dates in late November/early December. If their live show has the chops of Live It Out, you won’t be disappointed.
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