Show me on this beaver where Canada touched you. Jokes aside, Canada has a lot of great bands, especially on indie rock scene. One of them is, for sure, Metric. Active since 1998, they have carried out a lot of high quality music and interesting albums. They are well known for their covers and their side project Emily Hines and Soft Skeletons that was a unique innovation at the time when it came out. On their six album, Metric decided to proffer a collage with a bunch of attractive songs.
That feeling you have when you are waiting for the next album of the band you adore and then you love it after the first listen is what happened to me with Pagans in Vegas. It is a full circle for Metric. They took the flavor of new wavish Old World Underground, WhereAre You Now, continued with dominant indie we heard on Fantasies and borrowed synth-pop of Synthetic. They have mixed all the good things our ears like to be exposed to and they knocked it together. It is a celebration of everything Metric does best.
Album itself is leaning towards electronic, dance and synthpop, but the essence of their previous works is there. Sound texture interventions were minor because they are aware that indie rock is their baseline. Pagans in Vegas, a glorious dance fun, has opened the door for everyone who likes to dance on the waves of good music. Little bit of dance, little bit of contemplation, little bit of love discourse, little bit of pure joy.
As I was expecting, they stayed true to self-irony in their lyrics. Songs are simple but always send a meaningful message. Choosing The Shade as first single was smart move. Emily showcases her self consciousness when she belts out I want it all in the chorus. The track is wrapped up in dance and electronic, but it has its roots in Fantasies. Cascades is another dance tune, only in synth pop tone.
They slow down in ballades Too Bad, So Sad and The Governess, contemplating about relationships, friendships, life. Interchanging fast and slow brings eclectic album that never bores you. It shines from the beginning to the end. I would not touch a single thing there.
Las Vegas serves as an inspiration, rather as a symbolic game with ironic references to fortune, failure and fame, than as an inscription. Pagans in Vegas gave me life. It is an evidence you can have high quality discography If you stay consistent.
