Rank: 2/5
As an artist, it’s important to continue to grow and evolve within your genre, a feat long-time Canadian band Metricis no stranger to.
Three years after releasing their last album, “Synthetica,” “Synthetica” Metric returns with its sixth studio album “Pagans in Vegas,” which is part of a double albumrelease.
Its companion, which is not yet named, is due out sometime in 2016.
It’s a heavy synth-pop album that completely uproots the band’s old indie influence.
“Lie Lie Lie” opens the record on a strong metaphorical note, with discussion about losing personal inhibitions for the sake of fame and lying in order to achieve success through lyrics such as, “Naked in the movie make me the director’s pet. Everybody told me ‘take whatever you can get.’”
The track also alludes to Dylan Thomas’s poem, “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” with the lyric, “Holding off your freedom of speech, rage against the dying of the light.”
It’s one of the more creative approaches to the beginning of an album than can be heard on most pop-influenced records.
The second track “Fortunes” continues with the darker trend of the first track, but this time focuses on feelings of isolation due to people leaving.
Lead singer Emily Haines’ struggle can be heard in the lines, “They tell me it’s a magical world; it’s a sinister world. It’s too late to leave.”
For the following tracks, including “Celebrate” and “For Kicks,” a theme of self critique prevails.
The lyrics within these songs reflect a desire for change and an eventual inner compromise with self acceptance despite faults or flaws.
Halfway through the album, two tracks, “Cascades” and “The Other Side” stand out from the rest because their sound is so unlike its counterparts.
“Cascades” sounds the most electronically influenced, with Haines’ vocals sounding almost robotic against a myriad of synthesizers while “The Other Side” (“The Other Side”) features guitarist James Shaw on vocals for a change.
To close the album are tracks “The Face, Pt. I” and “The Face, Pt. II,” which are solely instrumental pieces but still pack a lot of meaning.
“The Face, Pt. I” is upbeat and transitions into the sound of a phone ringing at the end while “Für Elise” plays faintly in the background, culminating with an automated message that no one is available to take the call.
“The Face, Pt. II” follows this up with a dial tone and a soft beeping eerily similar to a heart rate monitor reaching a flat line paired with a slower melody, eventually changing and stretching to a crescendo.
As for the title of the album, “Pagans in Vegas” seems to loosely call on religion in addition to personal obstacles, in the sense of holding views outside of the main world.
Overall, the album is worth a listen for those wanting to try out a new artist, because the effort put into the songs is admirable.
However, the variety of electronic instruments occasionally clash with one another.