Montreal-based rockers Metric have announced that they will release their new LP Synthetica on June 12 via their own label, MMI. The 11-song tracklisting is as follows:
01. Artificial Nocturne
02. Youth Without Youth
03. Speed The Collapse
04. Breathing Underwater
05. Drums So Real
06. Lost Kitten
07. The Void
08. Synthetica
09. Clone
10. The Wanderlust
11. Nothing But Time
Synthetica is described as “futuristic, yet organic” and as evidenced on tracks like Artificial Nocturne, bears an overall “pulsating, grimy throb.” Metric guitarist James Shaw – also a member of Broken Social Scene – offered his explanation for the prevailing tone: “That sound is the foundation of the album… It’s a ’60s organ played through a homemade pedal dreamed up by a local wizard who posted an ad on Craiglist. Together they set the emotional tone for the whole record.”
The sleek, minimalist album art, credited to Toronto-based photographer/designer Justin Broadbent, is said to befit the LP’s complex nature. “We wanted the artwork for Synthetica to be thought provoking and a little disorienting, an optical illusion which asks you to stop for a moment and consider what you are looking at,” said vocalist Emily Haines. “We were very influenced by images from the Radical architecture movement of the 1960s, and Justin’s representation of the natural world seen through a physically impossible window – or is it a stage? - struck us immediately as the right cover for this album.”
Lead single, named Youth Without Youth will be debuted digitally throughout North America on May 1. For fans seeking an early glimpse of what to expect, Reflections of Synthetica exclusively at www.ilovemetric.com.
