The indie-dance furrow is one that has been well-ploughed of late, with varying degrees of success. Like Hot Chip and the Go! Team, Metronomy have a penchant for unexpected tangents and an aptitude for variety; they don't have as much pop nous as the former, but then neither are they as inept as the latter when it comes to production. What impresses most is how the band manage to corral their disparate ideas into a cohesive whole, from the loose, freeform grooves of On the Motorway and Holiday to the riotous funk of My Heart Rate Rapid. Nights Out is slightly let down by Joseph Mount's voice - as with so many indie singers before him, he uses a flat drawl meant to signify glamorous ennui, but is merely unengaging - and the occasional tendency towards self-pity is tedious, but otherwise this is a solid effort.
Contributor
Alex Macpherson
Alex Macpherson is a freelance journalist who writes for The Guardian, New Statesman, Metro, Fact and Attitude. He distracts himself by checking tennis results, attending street dance classes and trawling for new music in the name of research
Alex Macpherson
The GuardianTramp
