Metric

Live it Out (Last Gang)

By Amber Drea
Published: October 17th, 2005 | 1:26pm

The sophomore effort from the Toronto-Oakland–based Metric delivers more of its neuro-stimulation shrouded in a new wave punk aesthetic. Also shuffled into the mix, like a multi-hued parfait in which you can see each different color and flavor, are genres including, but not limited to, spacey psychedelic, ’60s European romanticism, and garage rock.

While “The Police and the Private” could have been lifted straight off previous album, Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?, other tracks show a completely new side of Metric. “Ending Start” recalls the Cocteau Twins with its lush, atmospheric airiness, while the melody on “Too Little, Too Late” sounds like Pavement at its poppiest. Guitarist Jimmy Shaw, who produced and engineered the recording in a makeshift Toronto loft-turned-studio, has definitely mastered the infectious rock riff, utilizing distortion, feedback, and Radiohead-ish effects. The driving rhythms from bassist Joshua Winstead and drummer Joules Scott-Key rival newbies like Bloc Party.

Familiar lyrical themes abound here: the money game in “Handshakes,” 2D superficiality in “Poster of a Girl,” and war rage in “Monster Hospital.” Feminism rears its head on “Glass Ceiling” and “Patriarch On a Vespa,” in which the sultry and sassy Emily Haines pleads about the fear of pretty houses, biological wristwatches, and comparison shopping. Punctuated with uh-ah-uh-uhs, ba-ba-da-das, and bam-chica-bams, and garnished with French cooing, Haines’ gauzy yet unrelenting vocals — and the band’s eclectic songwriting — set Metric apart from the rest of the ’80s revivalists. Just don’t judge a CD by its album cover.