It was just what was needed on a Saturday night: Brits invading my city and wearing push lights on their chests.
I love bands who create their own choreography to boot, so four piece Metronomy was solidifying their place in my heart by performing both tasks simultaneously and flawlessly.
“Is it okay if I call you Frisco?” singer Joseph Mount periodically asked the crowd in between songs, whose groans and friendly arguments back about the moniker elicited a wry smile on his behalf.
Opening “My Heart Rate Rapid” set the mood in place for the show, with a steady pop drum line that transformed into the peculiar electronic keys and falsetto chants the quartet has become known for. It’s an exceptional blend of dance and math rock that Mount maneuvers with the utmost of comfort and power.
While new track “You’re Not Meant For Love” may have more traces of surf rock territory – it seemed a bit shaky in delivery – Metronomy more than made up for the uncertainty later on. Tunes that carried more lyrical content, like “A Thing For Me” and my personal favorite “Heartbreaker,” allowed audience members to sing along and dance along harder than the instrumental tracks. It also allowed for clapping, of which I am always–and I mean always–an advocate.
Though the band composition has changed since Nights Out was released last year (the former drummer for Lightspeed Champion is now on skins in the new lineup), the change seems to have done the four piece some good. “In theory, you would just say stop. But I’m gonna assume you still want us to play,” said Mount as he was nearing toward what would have been set aside as “encore time.” “So, we’re just going to keep playing.” No one seemed to mind this agenda.
