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Jun 11, 2012That Metric were able to follow up their best record with another just as good is quite an achievement, hopefully something they will do again and again.
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Alternative PressJun 8, 2012It's certainly a progression for Metric, but it's an evolution whose emotional honesty--and sonic depth--are rewarding and affecting. [Jul 2012, p.94]
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Jun 18, 2012It seems that the band still have plenty to say, and the means to say it well.
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Jun 14, 2012There's a lot of kinda clichéd and heavy-handed stuff.
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Jul 3, 2012With nearly each track including a mesmerizing hook or chorus that slowly permeates your subconscious - "Clone" and "Breathing Underwater" leap out from the pack in this regard - Synthetica is a solid album.
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Jun 13, 2012Synthetica affirms what fans have loved about Metric: If the formula isn't broken, don't fix it.
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Jun 14, 2012On the whole, there is a lack of connection that makes it hard to qualify Synthetica as an entirely memorable album.
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Jun 14, 2012Synthetica is also the latest in a series of Metric albums whose greatness comes in moments, rather than being fully actualized.
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Jun 15, 2012This unbalanced album is both the most and least fun you'll have all year.
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Jun 12, 2012Metric's lyrical concerns are increasingly philosophical, and the band grapples with big questions with earnestness.
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MagnetJun 14, 2012A spotlessly produced, classic alt-rock album that recalls Garbage's golden age. [No.88 p.58]
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Jun 8, 2012Haines is a compelling performer, and there's certainly more than enough decent songs here to satisfy the faithful who may have been put off by the lacklustre Fantasies.
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Jun 25, 2012On their fifth album there's a newfound clarity in the production that provides an added dimension to their tunes.
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Jun 8, 2012Their combination of new wave coldness and glam rock glitter is a formula that works well, and Haines has a genuine talent for walking the line between tough-girl swagger and fragility.
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Jun 12, 2012Synthetica is something of a polemic, but Haines' moments of ambivalence are what make the record compelling.
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Jun 12, 2012A full-length listen to Synthetica in all its endlessly-restating glory will only do more to hammer home how few tricks the band has up its collective sleeve.
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Jun 18, 2012Even with the highlights, there remains a feeling of paralysis on Synthetica that's reflected in the uneven tracklist.
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Q MagazineOct 12, 2012Synthetica's relentless efficiency feels a tad mechanical. [Jul 2012, p.107]
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Jun 12, 2012The effect is of a lucid dream world.
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Jun 8, 2012For a large chunk of the album, the band seems to assume that Haines's ice-queen snarl somehow lends Synthetica's bland, hookless milieu a cool irreverence, but more often than not, what's supposed to be punk-ish detachment often plays like the group is bored by their own material.
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Jun 14, 2012Synthetica manufactures dependable, big-hearted joy straight through, whether it's slightly gloomy or coquettish or just flat-out pop fun.
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Jun 12, 2012On Synthetica, Metric isn't necessarily making a transition; they're simply taking stock of where they've been before figuring out where they're going.
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Jun 8, 2012Less polished than its predecessor, 2009's Fantasies, Synthetica brings all the varied influences and styles together in perfect synchronization.
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Jun 22, 2012The dreamy 'Clone' has a touch of the Cocteau Twins about it, while the title track's polished riffs are pure powerpop. Only occasional moments – the lame guitar lick on 'Breathing Under Water' being one – sound outdated, proving that when it's done well, a little nostalgia doesn't hurt.
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Jun 21, 2012Synthetica has the flawless sheen of stainless steel and feels just as workaday, with even the industrial buzz of Artificial Nocturne and Youth Without Youth polished to a characterless gleam.
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Jun 29, 2012Throughout Synthetica, an undertow of dystopian unease drags the music away from standard pop territory into darker areas.
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Jun 22, 2012What feels right (or at least absolutely right now) about Metric is the perfect balance, every element in its place and in service of a set of sinuous, hook-laden, elegantly crafted pop songs.
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Jun 15, 2012Easy to dismiss, but possible to take seriously if so inclined.
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Jun 13, 2012They are just as edgy as they always have been. And grounded in the truth, their songs are only getting better.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 56 out of 67
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Mixed: 8 out of 67
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Negative: 3 out of 67
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Aug 11, 2018
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Jun 9, 2016
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May 18, 2014