METZ

It took them a couple of years, but Toronto's METZ have finally followed up on the scorched earth path blazed by their trio of promising seven-inches. Working with Holy Fuck's Graham Walsh and Crystal Castles producer Alex Bonenfant, the trio reined in their sound, amping up the inherent hooks of their songs while ensuring that the noise – though there remains plenty of it – isn't present just for noise's sake. Lead track "Headache," with its pounding drums and chanting back-up vocals, makes the best case for METZ to break-out of the noise-rock underground and into greener and quieter pastures. The Jesus Lizard influence is as prevalent as ever, but there's never a sense that singer-guitarist Alex Edkins, bass player Chris Slorach and drummer Hayden Menzies are simply looking to recreate what David Yow and company did 20 years ago. Nirvana are actually a better comparison, not so much for the sonic similarities (though they are certainly there if you want to make them), but for METZ's ability to channel primal screams and squelching guitars into hook-laden earworms.