Metric’s new single “Just The Once” details the moral conflict of temptation. But, don’t be fooled – it’ll bring your disco fantasies to life, too, and when they play Free at Noon next Friday, July 14th, you should arrive prepared to dance.
As the Canadian alt-rock icons gear up to release their ninth studio album, Formentera II, a companion project for their 2022 release Formentera, it’s no surprise that their lead single underlines the urge to keep coming back for more. In the words of lead singer Emily Haines, “Just The Once” is, “a song for when you need to dance yourself clean.” Drawing inspiration from the disco revival we’ve seen throughout the past few years, as well as the momentum they’d built on their last album, Metric has created an insightful yet rhythmically enticing summer song that hits hard and hits close to home at the very same time.
The most striking lyrical moment of the track comes through during the bridge, where Haines presents the moral dilemma discussed throughout the song in its rawest form. She sings, “Though we trace the outline clearly of morality and honesty, we observe the outline rarely and eventually, unknowingly, we erase the outline.” For just a moment, the listener might forget that they had just been tapping their foot to the beat, but might instead take a moment to examine just why they’d been tapping their foot, to begin with.
Speaking of dancing yourself clean, that’s exactly what Haines does in the music video for this single, alongside bandmates Jimmy Shaw, Joshua Winstead, and Joules Scott-Key. Check it out below to see the band back and better than ever, surrounded by neon lights (and holographic jackets). Stay tuned for their new album Formentera II on October 13th and, if you’re so inclined, give into temptation and RSVP to see them at next week’s Free at Noon concert! Act fact before space is gone. You can also catch Metric on tour with Garbage and Noel Gallagher that night at the Mann Center’s TD Pavillion; info on the show can be found at WXPN’s Concerts and Events page.