Canadian band Metric released their new album Romanticize the Dive on April 24, recorded at New York's Electric Lady Studios. Guitarist James Shaw told La Tercera how they aimed to recapture the freedom of their early days. The album features the team behind their past hits like Fantasies and Synthetica.
Metric, from Toronto and comprising James Shaw, Emily Haines, Joshua Winstead, and Joules Scott-Key, released Romanticize the Dive via Thirty Tigers. The band reunited with the producer and mixer from Fantasies (2009) and Synthetica (2012) to revisit that era.
"We wanted to recover that feeling of freedom", Shaw told La Tercera's Culto. He recalled an Electric Lady moment, founded by Jimi Hendrix in 1970: walking out, he heard three Metric singles in a bar, reminding him of their true sound. "It's like the building is my truth serum", he said of the studio.
Their creative process stayed consistent: Haines arrives with cellphone or iPad ideas, or Shaw starts with instrumentals. For As If You’re Here, she nailed the final take in one go. The cover features only Haines in a worn shirt with album name in tape, capturing their essence.
Shaw skips reviews: "If it doesn't make you happy, that's fine". The album has earned praise as their best in years. They plan a tour, possibly returning to South America, per talks with Stars and Broken Social Scene.