Metronomy's fourth album, Love Letters, is out next week and they've gone down the stream-the-whole-thing-on iTunes-route.
A lot has been made of where it has been recorded (Toe Rag Studios) and the rougher analogue 60s sound compared to the previous and pristine The English Riviera.
One thing that certainly is rough (and ropey) are the vocals on opener The Upsetter, which may be a statement of a new direction, or indicating the rawness to come, but actual sounds pretty bad.
Next we get the 6-Music-hammered I'm Aquarius, Monster and the stunning Love Letters. But the main reason I'm writing this, aside from my love of Metronomy, is the fantastic Boy Racers (around the 21 minute mark on the stream above). This wobbly and weird instrumental harks right back to Pip Paine, and with its squelchy synth bassline and double-handclaps reminds me a bit of Telex and that's no bad thing.
From there the album seems to fizzle out with the exception of the bleak and plinky Reservoir.
So while I'm not immediately smitten with Love Letters, I will still buy it as I'm now of that age where I only buy albums by bands I already like. The question now is whether I get it from Spillers for £9.99, dirty Amazon for £8.99 (plus AutoRip) or Rough Trade for £10.99, which includes an exclusive bonus CD.
