Alienation, social anxiety and political paralysis, according to lead singer Emily Haines, are the main themes on Metric's critically-acclaimed debut, Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? This four-piece synth-pop band of Toronto and New York ex-pats has made the decade's most political (and wildly melodic) record; Audioslave ain't got nothing on them. Whether singing about the music industry ("All we get is dead disco, dead funk, dead rock 'n' roll, remodeled") or about war ("The War as we knew it was obsolete/ nothing could beat complete denial"), Haines' voice flits across the track with steely conviction.
On the phone, she sounds even more sincere. Haines doesn't want to be fed the media's images. (She mentions a special on the History Channel the previous night, in which a U.S. soldier is comparing looting in Baghdad to a red-tag sale at K-Mart). She doesn't want to live in the "romance and the heightened reality" as portrayed on her TV screen. "I don't want to be turned on. The cradle of civilization is rooted, and it seems that especially now you have to be continually aroused to get any feeling."
Indeed, this is the message of Metric and it certainly doesn't hurt that this message is delivered in pixie-sweet vocals and incredibly catchy Smiths-style guitar riffs or that the band brought down the house in three different clubs during SXSW. On stage, Haines exudes her sleek ferociousness as she croons about a lover gone off to combat or the class divide.
"I end up writing songs so I don't forget. There's something about the process of writing and playing that helps me make sense of things," she says.
Finally, when asked what she hopes will happen in the future, Haines responds: "I'd like to see universal healthcare, a lower military budget and I don't want to see people working in health clinics without any teeth."
I meant the band's future, but oh well.
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