Believe it or not, but for their fifth album, Metronomy have turned their focus away from touring.
For now, at least. Even after the release of easily their most danceable record – filled with ’70s disco vibes, ’80s pop synths, intimate vocals and that unmistakable Metronomy feel – Summer 08 won’t actually see fans dancing to it live for some time to come.
“I mean, we’re going to tour again, it’s a short-term thing,” clarifies the band’s singer, songwriter and guitarist Joseph Mount. “When you put out a record, and tour it for two or three years, it’s fun, and then when you have children, it becomes a little less easy. You’re kind of making a decision between hanging out with your kids when they’re young or disappearing on a tour for, you know, three years. I’ve got kids, Gbenga [Adelekan] in the band’s got a young baby as well and Oscar [Cash] just got married – it just feels like a shame to miss all that stuff, just out of the fear of the unknown or something.”
When Mount puts it like that, it’s easy to forgive Metronomy for their empty calendar. Harking back to when things took off for the group upon the release of 2008’s breakout (and highly praised) Nights Out, Summer 08 doesn’t so much reminisce on the year that was but acknowledge the catalyst behind the band’s soaring career trajectory.
“It feels like this significant period of time for me and for Metronomy when Nights Out was released and we started travelling around,” Mount explains. “At the time, it was just me, Oscar and Gabriel [Stebbing] and it became our job for the first time. And I think it’s kind of the year that led to now, that I feel like something had happened, something that started then which is still happening. I thought it was a nice time to –” he breaks into an aristocratic accent – “tip the hat to the old time.”
Part of that trajectory now includes a Dawn Shadforth-directed video for Summer 08’s stellar lead single ‘Old Skool’, while the band travelled to Palm Springs in California to film a clip for the follow-up, ‘Night Owl’ – a far cry from the English town of Brighton, where Nights Out took its cues. It’s all part of the direction Mount wanted to take this LP, particularly when it came to its pace and sound.
“I felt like after the last album [2014’s Love Letters] I wanted to do something that sounded a bit more up to speed. I mean, there’s something about what I do which means that, for some reason, it never really sounds like, I dunno, Bieber or Skrillex,” he laughs. “But I wanted to make something that was a bit more clubby or dancey at least. When you start thinking like that, the visual side of it just follows that quite easily, and you don’t really need to think about it too much. It was all led by just wanting to do something a bit fun and kind of up to date.”
Whether consciously or not, Summer 08 sees Mount and co. move on from Love Letters’ mix of Motown and ’60s British Invasion tones to a fusion of the eclectic dance and electronic pop sensibilities of later decades. At several points it echoes the late greats David Bowie and Prince, with constantly surprising and unpredictable results.
“I think the first half of the record is quite fun,” Mount says. “Once you set up the idea that anything could happen, then you’re quite free, really. I just like the idea of having quite a kind of surprising album, you know? I don’t think there’s too much … but I think it’s great if you listen to a record and you don’t really know what’s going to come next. I think that’s a rare pleasure.”
The surprises aren’t limited to the sounds alone, as Mount reveals the track ‘Love’s Not An Obstacle’ was not officially his own to begin with. “I wrote it with Melody [Prochet] from Melody’s Echo Chamber. That’s kind of nice because I was writing music – we were writing music together – for her, and we ended up with this little idea, but then she kind of never claimed it, so I just stole it,” he laughs. “So it was a kind of collaboration without her even knowing.”
Other big-name collaborations for Mount include the Beastie Boys’ legendary Mix Master Mike scratching to stunning effect on ‘Old Skool’, Robyn lending her vocals to mid-album standout ‘Hang Me Out To Dry’, and producer Erol Alkan adding his mixing chops to the track, too. “The song with Mike on it, I wanted to have a scratch break and so he was the person I would always ask,” Mount says. “‘Hang Me Out To Dry’ needed a female voice and Robyn is someone I really admire and have got to know recently. I think you should never use people just for the sake of them being names … Robyn obviously helps,” he laughs, “but you know, I think you should always try and let the song decide what it needs.”
Looking ahead, Mount is taking advantage of the studio-friendly circumstances he’s created by being off the road, with even more music in the works.
“I just like the idea that you should push yourself to be kind of prolific, you know? Even if you book out some studio time, go in and work for two weeks and don’t really do anything, I still feel like it’s not wasted time. I suppose it’s a nice time to have a break from [touring], but then I still have the desire to put out music, and if I’m not touring, then I’ve got all this time to make music. It’s a real treat, you know? And it’s a treat that can’t last forever, so I’m just going to enjoy it while I can.”
