When Metric dropped their eighth album Formentera earlier this year, it felt like a return to form a bit. The songs off the Canadian indie rock masters’ new effort are lyrically banging, immediate attention grabbers that are high on bass, new wave flavor. All that being said, saying Metric have returned to form is a bit off since they’re probably one of the most consistent bands in alt-rock. They don’t put out bad music. They simply put out good music and great music. Formentera is the latter, and when they took the stage for the first of two shows at Brooklyn Steel on Wednesday night, Oct. 26, they played six tracks off that new LP, along with a bunch of alt hits, as well as four (wish it was more) songs off their 2009’s Fantasies — which is only one of the best alt rock albums ever.
Emily Haines and the band boldly took the stage just after nine (after an impressive opening set by Secret Machines) by playing the ten-minute-plus song “Doomscroller.” Starting the show with a tour-de-force song is pretty ballsy but this song, the best of the year I’ll say, moves in so many directions it felt like three masterworks in a row, and the crowd was in awe. The lyrics, bass and drums resonated here — Brooklyn Steel has the best sound of most venues — and the backdrop, right out of a Lite Brite box, fit this song and all songs perfectly. From there, Haines and the band offered a high-energy set including favorites like “Gold Gun Girls,” “Monster Hospital,” “All Comes Crashing,” “Synthetica,” and a stripped down version of “Combat Baby.” Personally, “Sick Muse” made my highlight reel along with their brilliant take of “Help I’m Alive,” and title track “Formentera” which is just killer. The biggest pop of the night was the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World classic “Black Sheep” which played as one of the four encores, and the most poignant was “Breathing Underwater” which sort of stopped the show Haines and the audience trading choruses.
Over 18 years into their run, Metric continue to one-up their game. Their two shows in Brooklyn end this current US tour run. Hopefully we’ll see them again soon. Their live shows keep my heart beating a hammer. See what I did there? {{{Crickets}}} I’m saying they’re always good.
