Metric performs in the UBS Forum

by Mary Lucia
Jun 12, 2012

Metric performs "Youth Without Youth" live on 89.3 The Current. (MPR / Nate Ryan)

Listen Metric performs in the UBS Forum

Jun 7, 2012 Metric performs in the UBS Forum

When Metric made their debut on the United States music circuit with the single "Combat Baby" in 2004, the band probably didn't know how ravenously they'd be greeted. Now they've become one of the biggest musical exports out of Canada, and they're primed to become an international hit.

They've been platinum and gold selling in Canada for years, but last record Fantasies was the one which finally charted stateside. With Synthetica, things are expected to be even more promising. Emily Haines retreated to explore an even darker side of lyricism, one which finds roots in the world's increasing loneliness and out-of-touch humanity.

It's heavy subject matter written on overworked nights in New York City according to Haines, but the band has created their most bombastic instrumentation yet to represent this frustration.

In a special UBS Forum session, Metric's Emily Haines and James Shaw played new material from Synthetica as well as older hits in a stripped-down set-up.

Songs performed: "Synthetica," "Help, I'm Alive," "Breathing Underwater," "What A Pretty Color (Benji Hughes cover)," "Youth Without Youth" and "Gimme Sympathy"