Song of the Day: METZ - Acetate

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. This week's songs come during the 2015 Fall Fundraising Drive. Today's song is "Acetate" by METZ from the 2015 album II on Sub Pop.

METZ - Acetate (MP3)There's a 2012 interview 2012, where METZ singer/guitarist Alex Edkins tells an anecdote that perfectly summarizes the Toronto band's discordant force – starting on the first note of one of the group's shows, a fan repeatedly rammed his head into one of the band’s monitors until he began bleeding. While not everyone who has been to a METZ show in the past few years has gone to that degree, it's not hard to see how the heavy, whiplash-inducing pace of the trio's performances could inspire such a reaction. Banning together in 2008, Edkins, bassist Chris Slorach, and drummer Hayden Menzies cut their teeth in Ontario basements before breaking into the international touring circuit with their 2012 self-titled debut, and in between the extensive touring cycle behind that album, the trio regrouped to record its followup, this year's II. The album's opener, "Acetate", doesn't deal exclusively in brute force, but when it isn't stacking thick riffs on top of each other, it's floating in an unnerving negative space, waiting to strike. Edkins' nervy voice ties the song's two speeds together, but it's Menzies who quietly earns the song's MVP award, injecting his pounding with texture and nuance in a way that few drummers can while still hitting with white-knuckle intensity. At the very least, "Acetate" is a success because it acheives the same effect as the rest of METZ's best work (a magnetic, punishing cacophony), but the two-pronged manner in which they acheive that state makes the track a fascinating step forward for the trio.

Metz are touring II in Europe through the fall, followed by an Australian jaunt in the new year. Keep track of their travels and any news about new shows or releases at their website and Facebook, and watch the band play "Acetate" live in KEXP's studios earlier this year.