Metric are a rock band from Canada that formed in the late 90s but started to release music in the early 2000s with the lineup that continues today of (l to r) Joshua Winstead (bass), Joules Scott-Key (drums), and founder members Emily Haines (vocals, keyboards, tambourine, guitar) and Jimmy Shaw (guitars, keyboards, vocals) . Their most recent album Art Of Doubt came out in 2018 and I got to see them twice that year, making it six times in total.
They're probably the most underrated band in the world.
Jimmy and Emily also perform with Broken Social Scene, and Emily has her own solo project called The Soft Skeleton.
Here are my 10 favourite Metric songs. So many to choose from and even their song that has me in the music video couldn't get in.
10] Combat Baby (2003)
A bit indie and a bit lo-fi but a polished composition that's pretty damn catchy.
9] Empty (2005)
After hearing this for the first time I was like "I did not expect that."
It's even better live. And that guitar solo, or anti-solo, is great.
8] The Shade (2015)
Emily Haines really has a way with words and doesn't even have to use that many to create vivid imagery in another catchy number with a vocal that has almost lullaby-like qualities at times.
7] Wanderlust (2012)
Lou Reed (RIP) was a Metric fan. Why wouldn't he be? He guests on this lush track that's seemingly about continual moving or travelling. Will our own planet even be a place for you and me?
6] Sick Muse (2009)
Metric have a better rhythm section than U2. Just sayin'. A guitar riff with intent underpins the verses of this song which goes into a super effective two chord chorus. Not sure what it's about but dating sucks, haha.
5] Help I'm Alive (2009)
Whilst I'd heard of Metric before I first heard this, it was this song that made me realise I needed to escalate my investment in this band to fandom. It's the kind of song your mind will bring to you before a job interview or anything else daunting. "Can you hear my heart beating like a hammer?"
4] Dark Saturday (2018)
Their 2018 album Art Of Doubt really is a modern classic, and you can tell cos this was instantly a fan favourite. As I'll get onto again later, I love the way some Metric songs will just out of nowhere make you think about a concept differently. If you were ridiculously rich then yes, everything would effectively be free. Such a great song about what seems like darkness, anxiety and searching.
3] Underline The Black (2018)
This song is like an amalgamation of the best sounds of Metric through all the years and albums put into one song. Awesome drumming. As it happens I know Joules Scott-Key is a Stewart Copeland fan like me. Lyrically this song is sublime and I would even enjoy reading them on their own.
2] Breathing Underwater (2012)
What an epic tune! It really connects with you when you hear Emily sing "Is this my life ahhhhh or am I breathing underwater?" What a way to think about your life or how you're living. And with me of course that would get all existential. I wouldn't have written Am I Alive? if it wasn't for hearing this song.
1] Black Sheep (2010)
Anyone who knows me well enough would have expected this to be number one because it is my favourite song of all time by anyone, anywhere, ever. It just kicks arse. Everything about it just clicks, the bass is fat and tight with the drums, the guitar sears and chimes when it needs to and the vocals are amazing. It rocks and it's dancey too. Now because it's from the brilliant movie Scott Pilgrim v. The World, some people prefer Brie Larson's version from the film. It's the same awesome song at the end of the day so such heresy can be forgiven. In an interview Emily effectively says she channelled a lot of the framework for this song. How it's almost autobiographical for me is remarkable.
That's me meeting Emily after a Metric gig in Oxford, UK in October 2015. Apologies for advertising an alcoholic beverage haha.
Here is the above countdown as a Spotify playlist:
Metric are a rock band from Canada that formed in the late 90s but started to release music in the early 2000s with the lineup that continues today of (l to r) Joshua Winstead (bass), Joules Scott-Key (drums), and founder members Emily Haines (vocals, keyboards, tambourine, guitar) and Jimmy Shaw (guitars, keyboards, vocals) . Their most recent album Art Of Doubt came out in 2018 and I got to see them twice that year, making it six times in total.
That's me meeting Emily after a Metric gig in Oxford, UK in October 2015. Apologies for advertising an alcoholic beverage haha.