METRONOMY - Love Letters

A carefully casual-sounding recording, with off-kilter retro signifiers (analog synths, plenty of old drum machines, the odd horn arrangement) bolstering their setup and often sending things slightly out of whack (but never cloyingly so), and Joe Mount's knack for strong falsetto hooks kept fully intact, Love Letters never sacrifices a catchy pop tune for experimentation's sake, letting these two tendencies unshowingly inform each other and resulting in a formidable follow-up to The English Riviera.

"With each album, Metronomy have steadily announced themselves as master craftsmen of the three-minute electro-pop stomper...It's refreshing then, though with an admitted dollop of apprehension, to hear the band shed their floor-filling roots in favour of a more stately sound, as Love Letters is their most restrained album to date.

Despite the record’s introspection, it never steers too far from the fanciful. Joe Mount is a deft Midas of sorts, lacing each lyric with subtlety, each cadence with playful restraint...Of course, on the occasion that the album does let loose, it really lets loose. The title track is a swirling psychedelic romp that the Mamas and Papas would be proud of...Some fans will be disappointed with the comparative lack of bona fide readymade chest-lighting bangers, but they’ve been spoiled enough on previous records. Instead, Metronomy have stepped up from the mantle of electro-pop, and matured into the sort of band that endures. Excitingly still, they leave us with no idea where they’ll go next." - The Line Of Best Fit