Album of the week, week 47: Metronomy - Nights Out

Tracklist
1. Nights Intro (2:39)
2. End Of You Too (3:43)
3. Radio Ladio (3:33)
4. My Heart Rate Rapid (4:09)
5. Heartbreaker (4:12)
6. On The Motorway (2:34)
7. Side 2 (3:29)
8. Holiday (4:14)
9. A Thing For Me (3:28)
10. Back On The Motorway (3:54)
11. On Dancefloors (4:43)
12. Nights Outro (3:14)

Every once in a while an album treads by and shakes your world until you're in that critical moment when you realize how happy you are that you are living right here, right now. And not in 1958 or 2057. Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours is one of those moments. Glasvegas' Glasvegas is another one. Metronomy's Nights Out is one.

With a bunch of creddy remixes and an instrumental debut in the luggage, Metronomy frontman Joseph Mount has pulled himself together thoroughly backed up by the two mates Gabriel Stebbing and Oscar Cash, for one of the best albums that has ever surged through the blogosphere and indie/alternative world.

It is very clear that Mount had a vision and ambition and with huge talent and great skill he elegantly pulls off anything he has put his mind into. Nights Out, a dejected yet exuberant, geeky yet top notch, lo-fi yet hi-fi produced, catchy yet innovative, mind-blowing yet genuinely appealing piece of art is revolving around the theme of a not so succesful night out.

Joseph Mount is a genius, there's not much to say about that. I've never heard an album that compasses so many different genres, styles and widespread influences into an impregnable own unique sound unheard of. Wonky synths, jangling crisp beats, charmingly askew indie guitars, handclaps, a good measure of underlying bass, and dualistic moods in the atmosphere of the soundscape. They all make up what will always be recognized as the ever-glowing fresh sound of Metronomy.

As if it weren't already enough with that, Mount surprises, shocks and steals your breath with a songwriting that is more original, fun, intelligent, charming, heartbreaking, enchanting and striking than most of what you'll hear this year. The mesh of indie rock, electropop and disco turns into a totally new interpretation of the term Intelligent Dance Music. If there ever was a logically homogenous album that constantly reinvents itself, it was Nights Out.

The intro delivers a feverish orchestrated with a honking symphony that sounds like a horde of swans that all have swallowed old-fashioned bicycle horns, accompanied by a very appropriate imitation of oriental guitar string pluckings. The second track still not offers any vocals from Mount or his comrades but there's all the more tempo-switching infectious boogie qualities to even dare thinking twice.

Then the longest killer streak of songs of an album in collective memory continues with some of the coolest guitars and rhythm the indie world has ever heard on the first single Radio Ladio. As unpretentious Mount's approach to singing might be it is with great effect and anticipation that he finally breaks Metronomy's vocal silence with the words:

"See that girl?
She's taken my breath away
Yo, what's her name?
She's taken my breath away"

And the party can begin. My Heart Rate Rapid is perhaps the track that has caught my attention most? It sounds incredible, but I have to say that no better build-up has ever been done for a party or dance track. It starts with just the spurring bass drum/snare beat, then adding a repeating synth sequence going like 12345678123456781234567812345678 on the tone scale. The bass drum is left alone for a short while when a buzzing noise is added and freak voices start saying unintelligible stuff. The drums kick in again whipping up the tension in the synths for a quick climactic outburst, inducing madness on the dancefloor. The quirky guitars are fun, light and insanely catchy and Metronomy's alienated hums a hypnotizing melody. Then comes perhaps the most majestic moment in music year 2008 after Geraldine and Daddy's Gone when everything drops to just a wicked heavy bass line and the band chanting in a slightly echoing space.

That is just one of the amazing moments of Nights Out. Wether it's this year's With Every Heartbeat, the fantastic heartfelt pop hit Heartbreaker, which tells us about two guys having trouble with the same girl.

"The girl's no good for me and you
She hurts me too"

The effective simplicity in Metronomy's compostions and lyrics does not undermine Nights Out's credibility as an album that is smart, neither does it make it any less emotionally captivating. On the contrary, it is something that makes this album such a compelling listen in the first place. Besides, why sound smart all the time just because you are? On The Motorway's danceable cacaphony or the melody of the verse in A Thing For Me would've been rejected as dumb or mere shallow fun if done by any other band. But this isn't just any other band. The only track I might not love as much is Side 2 which breaks the streak of five poppy dancefloor killers when mostly just adding to the overall moody sound of the album.

By the end of the electronic noise on top of the hindsight-sounding guitars of the outro, there's not much to say. There's a darn much going on in the albums released in 2008 but not half of it even comes close to be compared to Nights Out. Metronomy has with their second album deserved all the hype and popularity they didn't deserve for any remixes in particular or the first album. This is just brilliant. Brilliant.

And for all that is holy and sacred, why is Metronomy playing at Debaser Medis, Stockholm on November 28? Debaser won't let me in with their godforsaken 20-years age limit. It's outrageous and I'm feeling desperate. I'm actually considering contacting Metronomy's management because this isn't fair at all. Can't I get a backstage pass or something like that?

Debaser Medis, if you read this: fuck you and give me an exception receipt!
Dear Metronomy's label/management, if you read this: give me a backstage pass or talk to the old men at Debaser to let me in!
Dear Metronomy, xoxo, Would love to see you performing live! Plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ^^

OBEY ME! I'M THE MIGHTY COOL HIP CREDDY BLOGGER! I'VE DESERVED SEEING METRONOMY!

Metronomy - A Thing For Me (ysi)