CD of The Week

In 2009, Canadian indie-rockers Metric cracked the mainstream with their outstanding album Fantasies. Their finest record yet brought us the hits “Help I’m Alive” and “Gold Guns Girls” (and was my favorite album that year) and gave the group the recognition they deserved in the States. After extensive touring (and a Twilight tune), the band led by Emily Haines andJimmy Shaw hunkered down to record the follow-up, Synthetica.

The new album’s opener “Artificial Nocturnal” recalls the gradual build of “Empty,” which kicked off 2005’sLive It Out. Lead single “Youth Without Youth,” has a glam-rock swagger to it, and mourns how fast kids grow up these days, while also managing to nick part of the melodies of two of the band America’s hits! Haines tries to pause and take stock of life around her in the excellent “Breathing Underwater,” while the pulsing “Dreams So Real” may have some of the best lyrics on Synthetica. Haines sings wistfully of the days when people “believed in the power of songs,” then asks, “What if those days are gone?”

The strutting “Lost Kitten” sticks out a bit; mainly due to Haines cooing in her highest register. Elsewhere, “Clone” may feature the loveliest melody ever on a Metric record. Late in the record, Lou Reed makes a surprise cameo, contributing a backing counterpoint vocal in the chorus of “The Wanderlust.” (Take that, Lars Ulrich!) And I didn’t even mention the driving “Speed The Collapse” or the defiant title track

The one thing missing from Synthetica is the prominence of Jimmy Shaw’s guitar riffs, which take a back seat for the most part (appropriately enough) to synthesizers. There’s no “Monster Hospital” or “Sick Muse” on here. Overall this is another excellent release from one of the best indie-rock acts around and one of the best albums thus far in 2012. Metric play their biggest headlining U.S. tour later this year, with a date at The Tower Theateron September 22nd.