I’m going to be honest, Metronomy isn’t really my bag. Perhaps I’m not hipster or highbrow enough, but I just don’t get their jam. I feel a bit like Jon at the beginning of Lenny Abrahamsson’s Frank – slightly bewildered by the depths of the intellectual pop he’s witnessing, recognising the genius in there somewhere, but somehow on the outside of the super-cool in-crowd.
To me, Metronomy are basically saying “huh, yeah, it is all a big joke, like the lyrics are so simple but they’re funny and witty, but the fact that you’re laughing at them makes you the joke, unless you’re laughing ironically in which case you might be cool enough to join our club, unless you’re not in which case, shame for you, or is it? Maybe that’s the final irony.” #MyBrainHurts.
'Hang Me Out to Dry' is the most enjoyable track by far
Summer 08 is heavy on the synth and rife with nostalgia – that much I do understand. There are hard-to-grasp shadows of early '80s radio tunes and TV soundtracks. "Back Together" has an industrial, robotic whine but with a retro twist in its old school drumming. The lyrics are about diarising for a date: “I remember when I met you we had a right old gas, you and I have got to get back together” – I like that it’s weirdly ironic, but I still don’t think I fully get the joke. "Miami Logic" is more of the same sound with a Baywatch-y guitar twang, and "Old Skool" has some scratching thrown into the mix with a purposeful needle-jump sound and pinging bells.There's nothing to latch on to and I can't imagine where and why I'd want to listen to this music again.
"Hang Me Out to Dry" featuring Robyn is the most enjoyable track by far. It's beautifully atmospheric, capturing a nuance of the 1980s with the jumpy upbeat energy of the Swedish singer alongside the hushy tones of Joseph Mount and their story about being young kids in love. "Night Owl" has a more disco vibe and the best lyrics of the album, about who takes what after a break up with: "No need for comfort babe, but I’ll take some anyway, don’t need the rollerblades, you’ve gone on holiday, I’ll take the feelings that I wish I never had, you take your favourite band, that shit was always bad”.
"Love's Not an Obstacle" and "Summer Jam" both give off some seasonal heat, but overall I find the tracks very samey and difficult to connect with. I'm left feeling like I'm on the outside of the cool kids club.
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