Down for You Is Up

With their fuzzy production, sharp hooks and naive approach, Metropolitan comes across as a snottier Teenage Fanclub. The two bands have a lot in common, but most importantly they can take dissonant guitar and ugly production and craft sweet pop songs out of all the noise. Tracks like "Long Distance Dedication" have hooks that burrow deep into your brain while the band bangs away at their instruments like they were Fugazi. This yin and yang to their sound is a great mix, making the obvious Fanclub comparisons seem pretty accurate because both bands also have the ability to pull it off. The album does suffer a little from the band's need to throw wanky one-minute noise blips in between otherwise excellent songs, but that is the nature of the beast when dealing with bands like this. Like a DC hardcore band trapped in a room full of pillows, Metropolitan delivers the goods for wide-eyed pop lovers and angst-filled feedback fanatics alike.