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No Ripcord

This isn’t the breakthrough album that nobody expected. This is precisely the album everyone was waiting for from Metric, a culmination of all their strengths and a slicing off of the fat that may have slowed them down in the past.

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Urb

Fantasies has solid musicianship, simple yet poetic and meaningful lyrics, a myriad of melodies, and hooks that are memorable and exciting.

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Lost At Sea

The complex emotional duality of the disc is nothing less than penetrating. Most of the tracks are danceable as well as lonesome, and can be enjoyed in a variety of settings.

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Los Angeles Times

There's plenty of apprehension in Metric's lyrics, but Fantasies isn't about wallowing. As Haines sings, "If somebody's got soul, you've got to make them move." Metric more than gets the job done.

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Entertainment Weekly

Danceable though they may be, these songs are also fighting some pretty serious gloom.

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The Guardian

Fantasies deserves the success "Live It Out" failed to achieve.

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All Music Guide

There's nothing small or careful about Fantasies--it's a full-on bid for pop glory and it's a smashing success.

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PopMatters

Fantasies finds Metric displaying a progression and maturity that comes as easy to them as swagger and general smarminess comes to most groups in their position.

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Hartford Courant

Metric is back with its strongest collection of songs so far.

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Alternative Press

Fantasies flows seemlessly from song to engaging song, with less focus on the dance-based instrumentals of "Old World" and greater attention to frontwoman Emily Haines' thoughtful lyrics and lilting voice. [May 2009, p.112]

NOW Magazine

The first three tracks build with effortless new-wave energy, making Fantasies an album you’d want to listen to while pre-drinking.

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Sputnikmusic

Fantasies is not only a top notch record that effectively picks up where Metric left off at "Live it Out," but with a sense of genuineness that some of the band's contemporaries have lost.

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Boston Globe

The Canadian quartet is back with Fantasies, another extra-strength pop album, anchored by 'Help I'm Alive,' another extra-strength pop anthem.

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Dot Music

She's softened the edges just enough for you to find a way in and it pretty much liberates the whole record. The transformation overall is nothing short of terrific.

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New Musical Express (NME)

They’ve certainly lost none of the delicious oddball energy that comfortably pitches their carefree electronic and romance-heavy tunes as the work of a lounge Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

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Drowned In Sound

You can’t help but feel that all those who have ignored Metric in 2009 are simply missing out. Fantasies is proof that you can make big event music that doesn’t make you die on the inside.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

Fantasies finds her taking tentative steps toward optimism--the best possible outcome of getting back to basics.

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Filter

Fanatsies may not have "Live It Out's" fire, but it smolders just fine, thank you very much. [Spring 2009, p.92]

Under The Radar

Fantasies resonates like its predecessors and enjoys consistency, although it's over in a breeze. [Spring 2009, p.67]

Billboard

The Canadian quartet continues to polish its spacey, new wave-colored sound that's heavy with buzzing synths and echoed vocals.

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Blender

The fourth disc from her Toronto foursome Metric adds brawn, finesse and grandeur to their new-wave drive and Morse-code guitar scrapes.

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musicOMH.com

Standing alone, Fantasies is an accomplished, enjoyable LP. Next to its siblings in the Metric back catalogue, however, it seems to lack urgency, a sense of the essential, dynamism, and even the touch of righteous anger that made itself known now and then.

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Rolling Stone

This Canadian-American hipster quartet's first record in four years has an electrophile slickness, not to mention a set of catchy songs.

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Spin

Fantasies is a welcome return, but it's not without flaws.

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Pitchfork

The story here though is the album's simmering, intimate moments--and despite the fanbase-building qualities of their new-wave past, the more the group embraces an inky, ambient future, the better it could get.

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Q Magazine

Emily Haines remains a commanding frontwoman, but where once she railed against war and consumerism, here she sticks to wishy-washy reflections on love and life. [Jun 2009, p.127]

cokemachineglow

Fantasies is, rather unfortunately but perhaps not surprisingly, just another Metric album.

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Austin Chronicle

While everything could be trimmed, Jimmy Shaw's razor guitar in 'Sick Muse' and 'Front Row' keeps things edgy.

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Slant Magazine

While it continues Metric's new-wave/loud-rock amalgam, the songs themselves fail to leave much of an impact.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 29 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Phil G. gave it a9:
Unadorned naked honesty wrapped in, at least from this crew, a stripped down streamlined sound.

Nathaniel T gave it a10:
I have to say that this has become my favourite album of all time. I have listened to it non stop since it's release in April. Metric are fantastic, and even better in person.

Jason B gave it an8:
Whoever said that this is pop marketed as indie rock is retarded. Metric has been around for a while now and are here to stay. The album is slick which is not the same as commercialized. Emily Haines provides interesting, quirky vocals on tracks like "Stadium Love", one of the best tracks on Fantasies. Overall it is a very consistent album.

C A gave it a10:
One of the best releases of 2009. A perfect blend of indie rock and electropop. Love more and more with each listen. Not a skipper here.

The Big Crunch gave it a10:
I've never been much of a Metric fan, but this album is just about perfect. No, they're not coming anywhere near a reinvention of the wheel, but jaw-dropping originality is often as irascible as it is thrilling. Perfect pop albums however are always welcome. Best album of the year for me so far.

Devin G gave it a9:
"Fantasies" isn't wildly new and doesn't at all re-invent the sound that Metric have become comfortable with. That said, it is still an amazing record, albeit one with a lot of untapped potential.

Yukka P gave it a5:
Commercial pop/rock marketed as Indie-rock. Not a bad update of older bands such as Blondie or the Divinyls. Kind of a Yeah, Yeah Yeahs wannabe band trying to cash in before their rapidly approaching 40th birthday party.

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