Metronomy warmly blends genre subtleties in Summer 08 in a one-man tour de force, solely produced by Joseph Mount in a thoughtful composition of dance-worthy ditties. All sorts of descriptor tags come up for the summery melodies: “indietronica.” “nu-disco,” and “wonky pop” come to mind. Yet for all that can hardly be described, the summer warms up on the dance floor for this record, from fast to slow and every single swagger in between.
Mount delivers the opening “Back Together” through warmly dance funky vibes, blasting the summer open for a little disco happy fun. “Miami Logic” goes on about ‘the hardest part you’ll ever know’ in the odd quirkiness of love, a pattern that stays notably vibrant throughout the record. While not lacking in musicianship or vocal emphasis, powerful Metronomy moments are the unnervingly quiet restraints that weave in parts of each track.
Mix Master Mike works turntables midway through an “Old Skool” rendition of pure decadent glamour, bass thumps leading the way into synth-heavy echoes. “16 Beat” pulls from classic '80s synth inspirations within layer upon layer sweet sixteen sweetness, a quiet head-bobbing nod to a musical era long past. For all the musical allusions through Summer 08, its production never fails to impress – improving on every predecessor worth comparing to.
Guest vocalist Robyn gives a free pass to “Hang Me Out To Dry” in warps of danceable melancholia, both sides of the car wheel living in love only for the moment. Introspective atmosphere hangs heavily in the dreamy “Mick Slow” with one eye squarely on the door, an odd wait around to see something that just might be incredible. Though these slower moments play as if drowning in its own sound, these two tracks especially take their time to fill the void with well-crafted musicianship.
Mount then croons quietly in the later hours on the excuse of making another call, the firm resolution to sort out relational misunderstandings back at “My House.” In a slowly built up instrumental introduction, post-relational gloom paces quickly on the imagination of being a “Night Owl,” with the city itself lighting the way. Synths reek of sadness here to the point where you would almost feel sorry for the guy if he wasn’t so ever fully aware of himself and of course dancing in the dark.
Fourteen weeks and 14 lovers later the premise of “Love’s Not An Obstacle” gives way to one-sided misunderstanding – unnecessarily, yet ironically complicated. The quietness of end piece “Summer Jam” hums and vibrates sweet sounding synths, opting for over two minutes of instrumental power over a few sparse words of doing anything for love. It’s a pure shame the production this time round hardly embellishes because two minutes in and you wish the band jam would never end.
Though as subtly as Summer 08 slowly started this sort of ending is incredibly appropriate at its understated best. Though Metronomy is in fact a band for this outing the leading man Joseph Mount has taken center stage to a beautiful produced record that bobs, weaves, dances and even cries a little. Plus while the summer season may undoubtedly be over, this record is a timeless piece of work that deserves constant rotation the whole year round.