Love Letters

Metronomy

Because, 2014

http://www.metronomy.co.uk

REVIEW BY: Benjamin Ray

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 03/24/2014

Heartbreak and regret are central themes to Metronomy’s fourth album, a warm, melancholic set of indie electronic pop that shows a group continuing to grow.

The music is firmly rooted in light electronic music, with programmed percussion blips providing the backing to Joe Mount’s musings on loss and loneliness, adding a human touch to what could be fairly sterile music. Where Love Letters succeeds is in its willingness to expand this sound, to add different stylistic touches and a sense of drama to the songwriting in a quest for some kind of muted catharsis.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

Opener “The Upsetter” is quietly desperate in lyric, tone and closing guitar solo and “Monstrous” is a tradeoff between a cheesy keyboard tone and a gloomier organ solo, the two offsetting in some sort of cheerful Gothic ode to treasuring what you have. “Love Letters” uses 1960s Motown as inspiration, the girl-group backing vocals sounding for all the world like the Supremes underneath a stomping, swirling electro-pop piece that is nearly as psychedelic as the album cover (Mount even borrows the horn solo from “Penny Lane” in the final seconds).

“Month Of Sundays” is the best song, utilizing an ascending bass riff, unobtrusive guitar fills (that turn into an extended solo in the second half of the song) and a tradeoff between Mount’s short, sharp, high vocals and the female “Never in a month of Sundays” chorus that provides the fadeout. The song is utterly original even as it looks backward and retains a signature propulsive grace.

“The Most Immaculate Haircut” is better than its title, pulling from the same well as “Month” and the title cut but going in a different direction, while “Boy Racers” is a fine instrumental. “Reservoir” tries for a ‘60s British Invasion homage of sorts that doesn’t quite work and “I’m Aquarius” squanders its promise, but the only actual clunkers are the simplistic “Call Me,” which drags on and on, and the dull closer “Never Wanted.”

Electronic pop is by definition chilly, and most purveyors use that digital distance to their advantage, which is why Love Letters’ warmth is inviting even as it creates its own world where outsiders may not feel welcome at first. But the willingness to draw from different sources to enhance the music, and the personal nature of Mount’s songs, make it mostly worth the effort.

Rating: B

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