Small World indeed...

 

Lest we already forgot, the past couple of years were weird: for the better part of 2 years, we were largely stuck at home, in lockdown or close to it, with limited ability to go out, drink with friends — or attend concerts. This was in many ways the impetus for Metronomy‘s super-sweet new album, Small World. Indeed, the LP was essentially designed to highlight the beauty in humanity, in the small things, in the fact that we are living… An eminently positive message, to be sure.

Now, as Europe is being once again shaken by war — although for the first time in decades at such a scale, the band’s message is all the more prevalent. Not that we should forget there are real bombs being fired at civilian buildings in suburban Kharkiv, but we should still not loose all hope in the fact that humanity, sooner or later, will prevail. Meaning, the decisions of a few tyrannical individuals will eventually be overturned by an overwhelming majority of pacifist citizens. Such a message was perhaps not meant in Joseph Mount’s latest effort, it is nevertheless there…

Many of the songs on the album are crafted very much as you would expect, coming from highly sophisticated pop musicians. Tracks like the single “Right on time”, bubblegum pop tune “Love Factory” or the 80’s retro-pop “It’s good to be back” are all filled to the brim with aspirations of a better tomorrow, affirmations that there are great things to be thankful for all around us, and that we should in general see that proverbial glass as half filled. Even, as the great Stephen Colbert once joked, if it is only a third full. Interestingly, it seems we are seeing quite a bit of that sort of minimalistic, often retro, largely pop approach as of late: the same could essentially be said of Miles Kane’s latest effort, same goes with Eels’ Extreme Witchcraft (albeit more on the rock side) or Mitski’s Laurel Hell (albeit on the more contemplative spectrum)…

That being said, and as is the case with most of the albums cited above, some tracks here delve deeper into the human psyche and our wealth of human emotions, including the less rosy ones. Starting with opener “Life and Death”, a beautiful, slow if ever so slightly sad piece. Then comes the closer “I have seen enough”, with a voice so soft you could almost picture a Lou Reed (on a good day) or Iggy Pop (on a sober day). Finally, perhaps the most ambitious and delicate song in this collection, “I lost my mind”, comes with an atmospheric progression that reminds us of Radiohead-esque or Pink Floyd-esque progressive, experimental rock moments. Well, experimental pop moments…

All in all, this short album (9 songs? come on, guys!) is a welcome reprieve in this current state of affairs of ours. Thank you for that…