I’m revisiting some of my favorite albums of all time and Metric’s “debut” Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? is up first.
Released September 2nd, 2003, I was just starting the last year of my middle school nightmare and this album could not have come at a better time. 20 years later, I’m sitting here questioning what these lyrics mean to me and hating how relevant the messages are today.
Metric is an Indie Rock Canadian band, born out of Toronto, ON and consisting of 4 members; Vocals & Synth by front woman Emily Haines, Guitar & vocals by James Shaw, Joshua Winstead on the bass, and drummer Joules Scott-Key.
Before they were Metric, Haines & Shaw were a duo, ironically named, Mainstream.
They released a self-titled EP in 1998 before changing their name to Metric. The drum machines were not especially conducive to good live shows, so they remained a studio band until they finally recruited a drummer and played their first live shows in New York in 2001. Their bassist joined them at the end of 2002.
Let’s start with “debut”.
It is Metric’s first album release but it was not their first album written. Grow Up & Blow Away was written in 2001 but was delayed for years by their label and later released in 2007 on Last Gang records. Which means that their third album was really their first.
This is particularly interesting to me because while I consider myself to be a big Metric fan all around, these 2 albums were personal standouts. I have them both on vinyl and am more familiar with them than any of their other works. Knowing now that they are their first 2… it just makes more sense. They’re stylistically and poetically very similar – and I love them both more than anything else Metric has ever done.
OWU,WAYN? was recorded in Elgonix Labs in Los Angeles, CA and produced by Michael Andrews. It spans over 10 tracks and just under 40 minutes and was released by Enjoy Records at the time, now called Everloving Records.
Upon release, critics were quick to call them musical elitists
and discuss their place in the indie pop rock subculture and how, even though this album brings nothing new to the table, Metric is judging music as it is. I find this opinion to be shallow and ridiculous – a quick judgment from journalists jumping to release a piece about their first single like it’s the basis of the entire album.
The single I’m referring to, ‘dead disco’, in which the lyrics are saying that the roots of disco, funk, and rock & roll are dead and everything is just a reproduction of inspiration. All the while, the message is backed by disco inspired beats, funky bass, and rock & roll inspired guitar. Is it possible they’re being sarcastic? And what about all of the other tracks?
I’ll agree that, as a whole, nothing about the sound is special or innovative but it is guaranteed to get stuck in your head and get your foot tapping.
Isn’t music all about making something catchy and fun while getting your message across?
Haine’s voice is bored, sassy, and feels retro while spewing about a country run by political propaganda and a love that cannot be – the mix is entrancing.
These 2 diverse messages are expressed in such a beautiful way. In Succexy: “All we do is talk, sit, switch screens, as the homeland plans enemies” – she is saying that the ‘enemies’ that we’re so proud to fight and defeat, are simply countries with something that our politicians want to control. We are not fighting enemies, we are fighting their defense against their enemy (that’s us, baby).
Is Metric still this political and melodramatically in love?
Maybe something to explore as I am less familiar with their recent discography beyond the few singles that have hit our kitchen-radio over the years. I love how her lines mean nothing and everything so often at the same time. I love this album more than ever. You should listen to it again right now.
Bye!
