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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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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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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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Q MagazineEmily 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]
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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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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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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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Under The RadarFantasies resonates like its predecessors and enjoys consistency, although it's over in a breeze. [Spring 2009, p.67]
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Fantasies deserves the success "Live It Out" failed to achieve.
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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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Fantasies finds her taking tentative steps toward optimism--the best possible outcome of getting back to basics.
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Fantasies is a welcome return, but it's not without flaws.
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Danceable though they may be, these songs are also fighting some pretty serious gloom.
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While it continues Metric's new-wave/loud-rock amalgam, the songs themselves fail to leave much of an impact.
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Alternative PressFantasies 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]
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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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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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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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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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While everything could be trimmed, Jimmy Shaw's razor guitar in 'Sick Muse' and 'Front Row' keeps things edgy.
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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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FilterFanatsies may not have "Live It Out's" fire, but it smolders just fine, thank you very much. [Spring 2009, p.92]
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Fantasies is, rather unfortunately but perhaps not surprisingly, just another Metric album.
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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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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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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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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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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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Metric is back with its strongest collection of songs so far.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 76 out of 81
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Mixed: 4 out of 81
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Negative: 1 out of 81
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CAJul 25, 2009One 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.
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YukkaPJun 18, 2009
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AlexWMay 25, 2009This album is refined to the best songs. Like "Live it Out" but more refined, with a tuned up "Old World Underground..." sound.