Summer Nostalgia
Summer 08 is the fifth album from Metronomy, and is all about front man Joseph Mount’s own nostalgia and look back to a past time with a little retrospect.
“Back Together” opens the album up with a laser show-esque intro, which changes right away as the sound becomes more aggressive along with the lyrics, coupled with fantastic drum solos. “Back Together” sets a high standard for the rest of the album. “Miami Logic” follows with almost the same level of aggressiveness, but the slur-like guitar riffs and the longing in the lyrics smooth this song out.
“Old Skool,” though, really starts to show the craft Mount has put into Summer 08. Looking at just the music first, the layering that occurs on top of the simple kick and snare beat intro is expertly done and is only heightened by the addition of Mix Master Mike. All these elements contribute to an anti-pop culture theme as well.
“16 Beat” stands out just for the sheer quirkiness of it. It’s a wistful love song of sorts for that “sweet sixteen beat.”
“Hang Me Out to Dry” acts as a division on the album. It starts off slower than any go the songs before and never takes off from there, halting the ongoing beat of the album. The song is built around oppositions, mostly represented by Robyn and Mount as Mount’s indie funk versus Robyn’s upbeat pop and their lyrics representing deep feelings versus superficiality.
With this turn of the album, the last half loses the aggressiveness from earlier. Almost every song is less about the moving beat and more about how long can it be drawn. This works for some songs like “Night Owl,” but makes songs like “Mick Slow” and the closer “Summer Jam” just die. In a way, though, this seems purposeful. Mount shows his dry sarcasm throughout all of Summer 08, which is an album about going out and having a shitty party night. Don’t those nights end the same way as the album, with everything becoming less clear and too drawn out? Overall, Summer 08 shows crafting that goes beyond the superficial level of house beats.
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