Synthetica

by 
AlbumJun 12 / 201211 songs, 43m 17s97%
Indie Rock Indie Pop
Popular

With *Synthetica*, Toronto-bred electro-rockers Metric continue to blend sharp lyrics, memorable melodies, and formidable beats with modern instrumentations. “Speed the Collapse” presents an unfolding drama driven by nervous-sounding drumming; “The Wanderlust” perfectly contrasts Emily Haines’ sweet singing with the legendarily unflappable delivery of guest duet partner Lou Reed. The horns toward the end of the title track, in turn, warmly complement its raw guitar power.

7.0 / 10

Emily Haines spends much of Metric's fifth album pondering the way the human mind is transformed by artificial versions of natural experiences. She also duets with Lou Reed.

C

Metric’s 2009 breakout Fantasies earned the band fame and acclaim, with all the accompanying publicity perks and side projects that entails (like writing the theme song for a Twilight movie). It also placed the group in a bit of a mid-career crisis: If frontwoman Emily Haines was ever inclined to make mainstream pop…

3 / 10

8 / 10

Metric bring us a fifth album that is sweet and sophisticated throughout.

5.6 / 10

Metric haven’t had the easiest time earning respect. First they operated in the towering shadow of epic Canadian mega-band…

Check out our album review of Artist's Synthetica on Rolling Stone.com.

After the commercial breakthrough of their 2009 album Fantasies, it would seem kind of unfair to ask Metric to do anything differently on their next outing.

7.0 / 10

No one could accuse the dark moods of Metric's music of hanging like storm clouds over the band's latest set of songs. Synthetica is eerie and disconcerting, but grounded in a realism that the band refers to as its first attempt at "facing what you know i

Every song on Synthetica is a poker-faced exercise in resigned indifference.

5 / 10

60 %

Album Reviews: Metric - Synthetica

44 %

Metric's frontwoman switched from frosty detachment to purring sex kitten on their new album Synthetica, writes Neil McCormick.

Navel-gazing synth pop makes is more ecstasy than agony. CD review by Nick Levine