Lather on the factor 50, ‘cos this is hot.
Metronomy do pop better than anyone else around these days. The sound of this summer was their tune, Salted Caramel & Ice Cream. Before that, they released tracks like Love Letters, which was as catchy as anything else released this decade.
So, whilst I confess to being something of a music snob, I have to concede that, as a genre, pop can be extremely worthy. Pop is not a dirty word. The Beatles were pop. So were the Beach Boys. And Blondie. Not all pop is like One Direction and Little Mix. This album, The English Riviera, is Metronomy’s masterpiece and is an example of sublime pop at its very best. It is perfect in every sense.
It just reeks of summertime. Listen to tracks like The Bay and The Look and you can virtually smell the Ambre Solaire. It exudes summer coolness as it slips effortlessly from one Joe Mount conceived pop banger to another. Close your eyes and you could be in the south of France, donning your ray bans and Vilebrequin trunks.
Mount is the driving force of Metronomy, the main architect of these songs. But on The English Riviera, the true star of the show for me is bassist Olugbenga Adelekan. Listen to the bass line on The Bay. It is unsurpassed this decade. And the groove on the intro to She Wants has to be heard to be believed. I was lucky enough to see Metronomy live a couple of years ago and couldn’t take my eyes off Adelekan. He’s that good and his bass lines really drive this album for me.
In summary, it’s polished and it’s slick. It’s knowing and smart. It’s pure pop, the best example of the genre this decade. And because of that, it deserves to be included in this list.
the dark flux 