It's Metric before they became a rock band, sounding like a rainy night in a city that doesn't know you're there.
A quiet, urban melancholy that feels like watching the world through a rain-streaked window.
Released in 2001, Static Anonymity E.P. serves as a crucial bridge between the band's early experimental phase in New York and London and the eventual release of their debut full-length. While many fans associate Metric with the high-energy indie-sleaze movement of the mid-2000s, this EP reveals a deep fascination with downtempo, trip-hop, and art-pop. Recorded during a period of transition, the tracks feature a prominent use of drum machines and Rhodes piano, creating a 'poptron' sound that was more aligned with the Bristol scene than Toronto indie rock. Most of these tracks were originally intended for the album 'Grow Up and Blow Away', which was delayed for years due to label issues. Consequently, this EP stood for a long time as the primary document of the band's softer, more electronic-experimental roots. Critics often note the contrast between the cynical, sharp-edged lyrics and the lush, almost lounge-like arrangements, a tension that would become a hallmark of Emily Haines' songwriting career.
Put this on for
Rain streaking the taxi window while the city lights blur into neon smears3am kitchen floor session with a lukewarm cup of teaHeadphones on during a solo train ride through gray industrial outskirtsThat specific quiet after a party where you realize you don't belongScanning old photographs in a room that smells like dust and paperDriving through a tunnel where the orange lights pulse in time with the bassWatching the sunrise over a skyline that feels completely indifferent to you
Moments worth waiting for
The skeletal, trip-hop inspired drum machine loop that anchors the existential drift of Grow Up and Blow Away.
The transition into the Jimmy vs. Joe mix of Soft Rock Star where the track takes on a more rhythmic, electronic pulse.
The way the vocals on London Halflife feel like they are being whispered directly into your ear over a sparse, brittle arrangement.
Sounds like
2001s production with a 2000s soul
Sits beside
Dummy - Portishead, Moon Safari - Air, Simple Things - Zero 7, The Mirror Pool - Lisa Gerrard
Lyrical territory
existential, self_examination, nostalgia
03Deviation
Static Anonymity E.P. · vs · Metric
Artist
This Album
Low Energy
Energy · ↓ −43% less than usual
On this album, low energy sits about 43% less prominent than across the rest of the artist's catalogue.
