The years haven't turned this into a vintage.
The Canadian indie scene is pretty much dominated not by bands, but by individuals. In much the same way that Pete Doherty seems to have his dirty fingers in many British musical pies, Emily Haines has her footprint well and truly over much of the genre. She is an erstwhile member of the pioneering Broken Social Scene, has sung guest spots on Stars songs and sings lead for Metric, the band whose album, "Grow Up And Blow Away" has finally been released here in the UK after years of stasis following record label strife.
Originally written and recorded in 2002, "Grow Up And Blow Away" has some understandable problems to overcome from the outset. How can this, their first album, stand up to the scrutiny of a music buying public after five years and a changing world? It's an interesting conundrum certainly. "Grow Up And Blow Away" does undoubtedly sound rather dated and half baked as only debut albums do, but this is the bands third release. What does one do with an album like this?
The basic truth is that "Grow Up And Blow Away" is an adequate but ultimately morose album that would, at best, be seen as an interesting curio to fans of the scene. There are many things that Metric do well here. Emily Haines is certainly the star of the show, exhibiting her beautiful, haunting voice with confidence and poise. "Raw Sugar" is sassy and catchy and "London" is starkly captivating. But much of the album is just hundrum and unexciting. "The Twist" uses a guest singer to flesh the sound out but ends up as a boring dirge. "Hardwire" does its very best to be poppy and cheerful, but ends up sounding like an overexcited toddler at a wake.
Emily Haines herself is pretty much the only thing of worth about "Grow Up And Blow Away", but there are better ways of hearing her than on here. With its dated sound, poor arrangements and uninspiring songs, this is something that only fans of the singer are going to like. Metric would have done better to release the album after some post production jiggery-pokery to flesh the sound out and making it more up to date. It could have saved the album from the doldrums. But as it stands this is very much an average debut album and something that should not be plugged as a fresh, new release. It's not a humdinger by any means, but it certainly isn't great either.