Metric

Finding a balance between sparkly synth hooks, rough-edged, DIY spirit and stomping glam rock riffs, Metric started crafting their own brand of melancholy, outsider pop in the late 1990s to become one of Canada's most inventive, beloved indie acts. Front woman Emily Haines is the daughter of poet Paul Haines and grew up surrounded by art, free jazz and prog rock, but rebelled by writing pop songs and released her solo record 'Cut in Half and also 'Double' in 1996. James Shaw had been brought up on classical music and played with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra but, after returning to Toronto having studied at the Juilliard School, he needed a new direction and found a natural musical kinship with Haines. They took their name Metric from an early track they'd written together, and drummer Joules Scott-Key and bassist Joshua Winstead later completed the line-up. But, after a major label deal in England came to nothing, they struggled to forge a career as a hard-touring, independent act. Their first album 'Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?' built a solid cult following in Canada, but it was 'Live It Out' in 2005 that made them indie rock favourites and reached platinum status. With their ambition and sonic boundaries growing, 2009's 'Fantasies' was another turning point for the band as they evolved into a glossy, electro-rock beast with throbbing anthems and Haines' barbed, bittersweet songs and effortless delivery. They also won their first Juno Award the following year and featured on the soundtrack to hit movie 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse' before their cinematic fifth album 'Synthetica' featured a collaboration with Lou Reed and reached number 12 in the US charts in 2012. Over the years Haines also sang regularly with Broken Social Scene, released solo albums and collaborated on fashion lines, but the band returned again in 2015 with twisted, dark disco, synth storms on 'Pagans in Vegas' and spiky, down-tempo, new wave, guitar-pop on 'Art of Doubt' in 2018.

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