Metric may be yet another extension of the "Broken Social Scene" family of Canadian musicians, but you couldn't tell from listening to "Fantasies," as their fourth album plies solid indie riffs spliced with electro adornments that veer far more towards the mainstream than most Arts & Crafts label mates. That's no disparagement, either, as this collection of mainly upbeat pop tunes grow with each listen. These tracks are fuller than Metric's previous work, more like indie anthems, as closer "Stadium Love" professes, with an appropriately huge hook that begs an enormous crowd to holler "oo-woo-oo-woo."
Opener "Help I'm Alive" rivets from the get go, with its solid industrial rhythm and ricocheting vocals, before breaking out into guitar driven indie, while Emily Haines vocals switch easily between dulcet gentleness and a diffused and wizened character. Sadly, it is a case of the lead single being the best, but that's not to say that the remainder of Fantasies is a write off, far from it. The alternating electric and acoustic guitars of "Gold Guns and Girls" grab alongside sharp harmonies, while "Front Row" blends 90s grunge and shoegaze with modern indie sensibilities.
Slower moments let "Fantasies" down, and explain dubious comparisons to their contemporaries Stars - on the whole, Metric have much more attitude. "Collect Call" has moments of fragile beauty but they're overshadowed by its tiresome chorus, while "Twilight Galaxy" merely treads softly and jadedly for its duration. Fortunately, these are the exception rather than the rule, and "Fantasies" provides enough catchy buoyant pop numbers to allow you to overlook it.
