Band's latest release relies heavily on vocals, sounds more like frontwoman's solo album
About halfway through "Synthetica," on the track "Dreams So Real," Metric frontwoman Emily Haines mechanically recites the lines "The scream becomes a yawn / I'll shut up and carry on" as slow motion synthesizers accompany intentionally artificial drumbeats. Haines, in her usual (and wonderful) lyrical quirkiness, is trying to articulate a sort of artistic impotence in the face of a society full of status updates, instant notifications and ever-shortening attention spans. This idea forms the thesis of the album.
However, after listening to "Synthetica" a handful of times, the couplet from "Dreams So Real" begins to appear as a self-aware retrospective on Metric itself. With "Synthetica," long gone are the distant, haunting screams and angst of "Monster Hospital" (2005). Metric has undergone a shift from in-your-face guitar riffs and funky drum machine loops to ethereal and sleepy yawns. Most songs on "Synthetica" drag on and on, rarely exceeding the four minute mark, but also rarely evolving from the structure and complexity of their first 30 seconds.
In a lot of ways, "Synthetica" appears to be a reaction to, rather than a continuation of, Metric's breakthrough album "Fantasies" (2009), which represented the band's experimentation with glamorous pop rock, complete with strong hooks, memorable melodies and structure reliant on a chorus. "Synthetica," in contrast, features more abstract subject matter, more simplistic hooks and some of the most complex lyrics Metric has written in years.
The reaction to "Fantasies" kicks off fairly abruptly when "Synthetica" opens. "Artificial Nocturne" begins with Haines proclaiming rather immediately that she is "just as f***ed up as they say" amid a dark and cinematic bed of synthesizers. The song continues on and develops a beat and a chorus, but it never quite relinquishes the dark undertone at its core. As it slowly fades away into its conclusion, chimes ring out unnervingly. Sadly, this intriguing opener doesn't really set the stage for the rest of the album. The rest of "Synthetica" goes off in several tangential directions, eventually coming together to form an inconsistent whole.
That isn't to say that there aren't great moments on "Synthetica," however. "Speed the Collapse" features some distant tremolo picking supporting one of Haines' most emotive performances on the album. "Lost Kitten" takes a sharp turn from the norm, sounding mocking and childish in the way that the playground song "K-I-S-S-I-N-G" would sound with snapping fingers and bass pedal thrown in. Haines' voice slides beautifully between notes on "Breathing Underwater," which is one of the most radio-friendly and fun songs Metric has ever written. And despite not being representative of the rest of the album, the broken promise of "Artificial Nocturne" is still an interesting change of pace for the band.
Haines' wordplay is as smart as ever on "Synthetica," and her voice transitions well between angelic highs and smoky lows. Sadly, it seems like the rest of the band is bored with their own music. Nearly every track is driven ahead by Haines' voice, front and center, and rarely is there a solo, an exciting introduction, a catchy beat or a melody that worms its way into your head. It works for the first half of the album or so, but it quickly descends into tedium after that.
In its overreliance on vocal performances, "Synthetica" sounds more like a Haines solo album than a proper Metric release. It's an exercise in musical minimalism, sure, but it's just so simple at times that it seems lazy, given the band's already proven skill. It's disheartening that the guitar riffs on "Youth Without Youth" sound like James Shaw was on autopilot and the drumbeats on "Dreams So Real," "The Void," and "Clone" don't really do any more than they have to.
Already converted Metric fans will find quite a bit to like on "Synthetica," especially when it comes to dissecting Haines' cryptic lyrics. However, the album doesn't really have any standout songs to make it worth recommending to anyone only casually interested in Metric, except for perhaps "Artificial Nocturne" or "Speed the Collapse." Even still, anyone who hasn't had much experience with Metric would be better off picking up a copy of "Fantasies" or "Live It Out" (2005).