What's That noise?

Michelle da Silva

Metric

Canada’s not-so-indie indie band, Metric, is heading out on a short cross-country tour before the year ends in anticipation of their forthcoming fourth studio album. The band, which was originally formed in New York in 1998, now calls Toronto home, and since releasing their debut album, Old World Underground, Where Are You Know, in 2003, Metric has only begun to see global commercial success in the recent years.

Metric is comprised of Emily Haines on vocals and synthesizer, James Shaw on guitar, Josh Winstead on bass, and Joules Scott-Key on drums. Haines and Shaw have also collaborated with Canadian indie supergroup Broken Social Scene, and Haines’ vocals have been heard on a number of other Canadian albums by Stars, KC Accidental, the Stills, and Jason Collett, not to mention her own solo album, Knives Don’t Have Your Back,  released in 2006.

Metric’s sound is post-punk, rock, pop, and new-wave inspired. Hits like “Combat Baby” and “Dead Disco” off the band’s first album are fast-paced, danceable, “tough girl” anthems. The single “Monster Hospital” off Metric’s 2005 follow-up, Live It Out, features Haines’ energetic, no-hold-back vocals over crunchy guitars, and the song has been featured on both Grey’s Anatomy and CSI: Miami.