We took the kids to Disney World last weekend. I'm not really a Disney guy. The place, with its multitude of resort properties, hugely complex private transportation system, and weird corporate culture where employees are "cast members" and jobs are "roles," conjures images of Gibsonesque corporatist dystopia for me. Except for the nighttime spectacle / acid trip / fever dream that is the Magic Kingdom's Electrical Parade, nothing at Disney World really has any "edge." Millions of people, my kids included, love it, though. And I will say that the degree to which Disney caters to people with special needs is truly impressive and commendable.
Sandy's aftermath and the eighteen miles per day that CoolMom had us walking around each of Disney World's theme parks made for some nice excuses to get out of my normal running routine. I needed something to get me back onto the right track fitness-wise, and my curmudgeonly nature needed something to counteract the sweet happiness of The Most Magical Place on Earth. Toronto's METZ proved to be just the thing.
METZ are the trio of Hayden Menzies, Alex Edkins, and Chris Slorach. The band's self-titled debut on Sub Pop is a thirty-minute, relentless onslaught of machine gun guitar, bass, and drums. Brain rattling opening track "Headache," with its "chorus" of "Gotta get away," hits with a power that's surprising for a two-minute song. The same can be said of "Get Off." Edkins gives his best Johnny Lydon vocal delivery on "Rats," and "Negative Space" comes on like a harder-edged, early eighties, brit-punk aerial assault.
METZ is aggressive, but all of the songs are well-crafted. A first pass leaves the listener dazed from the aural assault, but repeated listens to songs like "Knife in the Water" and "The Mule" reveal an attention to both detail and songcraft. "Gotta get away," "Get off," and "Gotta get out of this place" are all lyrics that could indicate that someone or something is trying to escape from somewhere. In the case of METZ, it could be the traditionally well-crafted pop song trying to break free from all of the noise.
I'd been wallowing a bit lately, relying on excuses like work, travel, and Sandy to keep myself, literally, from moving. Sometimes we all need a swift kick in the ass to set us back on the right course. METZ did that for me this afternoon. It also showed me that pent up energy and aggression, properly harnessed and doled out in just the right dose, can be something great.
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