Charles Desrochers / Asst. Lifestyles Editor

Canadian indie pop band Metric released Fantasies earlier this year, ending their four-year sabbatical from making studio albums.  

The album isn’t amazing. For a band that hasn’t released new material in four years you would think they would come out with an album that is more of a revelation than Fantasies.  

That being said, it’s not a bad CD. Metric’s new album is very middle-of-the-road. It has a very typical post-punk, indie pop tone that harkens back to the days in the ‘90s when the Smashing Pumpkins weren’t just Billy Corgan looking for more money.

Their single “Help I’m Alive” and most of the other tracks are mod at their core. The record has a steady pace that cuts out and in but never encourages a heart rate more than 80. As plain as it may be the songs are refreshing at the very least. 

Even though the genre has been around for several decades and Fantasies has nothing to add, Metric at least sticks with their bread and butter. In between the moody unwashed hipsters that dominate the rest of indie rock, Metric doesn’t over stretch their creativity to add unnecessary layers.

“Give Sympathy” showcases the band’s other side. The tempo stays at a fast jog under the rolling guitar and bass. Once in a while the keyboard will repeat a riff to add continuity to this very enjoyable track. It’s happy, but not in a jump and dance way like the song “Gold Guns Girls.”

Metric has managed to put together an album that won’t turn your day from gloom to bloom, but they did manage a work that will intensify whatever “sunshine on my shoulder” kind of feelings you may be experiencing. 

Fantasies is simple and enjoyable. Sometimes people may take themselves too seriously and only listen to music if it has at least four reverberated voices on each track. That’s why I say this album is refreshing.

It doesn’t move at break neck speeds and it doesn’t require any more intelligence than being a snot-nosed child chasing after a balloon.