Metronomy Forever is the sixth studio album by English electronic music band Metronomy. The album was preceded by four singles; "Lately", "Salted Caramel Ice Cream", "Walking in the Dark", and "Wedding Bells". Each single was released with a music video, the first three being directed by band frontman Joseph Mount, and "Wedding Bells" being directed by Ben Hanratty.[6] The album was released on 13 September 2019 by Because Music.[7]

Metronomy Forever
Studio album by
Released13 September 2019 (2019-09-13)
Genre
Length54:43
LabelBecause
Producer
Metronomy chronology
Summer 08
(2016)
Metronomy Forever
(2019)
Small World (Metronomy album)
(2022)
Singles from Metronomy Forever
  1. "Lately"
    Released: 29 May 2019[2]
  2. "Salted Caramel Ice Cream"
    Released: 19 June 2019[3]
  3. "Walking in the Dark"
    Released: 24 July 2019[4]
  4. "Wedding Bells"
    Released: 3 September 2019[5]

Two more songs received music videos after the album's release; "Insecurity" on 13 November, 2019,[8] and "Whitsand Bay" on 21 February, 2020. [9]

Production and Recording edit

The majority of the album was written and recorded by Mount while moving from Paris to Kent[10] with his family. While his new home did feature a recording studio, Mount said the album was "kind of done" by the time it was ready.[11] However after an underwhelming response from his record label, he reworked the material he had into what shows up on the final album.[10] Joseph began work on this album shortly after his work on Robyn's 2018 album Honey, having co-written and co-produced several songs on that record. His experience on that album greatly influenced his outlook and mindset going into Forever. The heavy emotions of Honey greatly contrasted with Mount's personal life, which he described as "happy".

"I did this thing that was so emotionally involved with Robyn for her record, and I came out thinking as though I almost needed this trauma to make a record. And I don’t have that – I’m just happy,..." -Joseph Mount [11]

It was ultimately this contrast that Mount said fueled the creation of Metronomy Forever. "You can be super happy while still being a bit despairing",[12] Mount said in an interview. The resulting album is a mix of more up-beat Pop songs and darker Lo-fi instrumentals, with song topics ranging from the joy of weddings to feelings of insecurity.

The name "Metronomy Forever" has two meanings according to Mount. The first relates to his concerns about his and the band's legacy, the second being a tongue-in-cheek reference to the album's run-time.[11] The long track list of the album was partly by design. Mount wanted the album to play like a radio station or an auto-generated playlist.[12]

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [7]
The Independent     [14]
NME     [15]
Pitchfork6.7/10[16]

Metronomy Forever received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 78, based on 15 reviews.[13]

Accolades edit

Accolades for Metronomy Forever
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Gigwise Top 51 Albums of 2019 25 [17]
Les Inrocks Top 100 Albums of 2019 29 [18]
Louder Than War Top 50 Albums of 2019 44 [19]
Rough Trade Top 100 Albums of 2019 34 [20]
Under the Radar Top 100 Albums of 2019 61 [21]

Track listing edit

All tracks are written and produced by Joseph Mount, except where noted.

Metronomy Forever track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Wedding"  1:01
2."Whitsand Bay"  3:51
3."Insecurity"  3:54
4."Salted Caramel Ice Cream" 
3:30
5."Driving"  0:49
6."Lately" 
  • Mount
  • Rousseau[a]
3:15
7."Lying Low"  3:56
8."Forever Is a Long Time"  2:29
9."The Light"
  • Joseph Mount
  • Martin Hadley
  • Mount
  • Ash Workman[a]
4:33
10."Sex Emoji" 4:23
11."Walking in the Dark"  3:04
12."Insecure"  1:16
13."Miracle Rooftop"  4:43
14."Upset My Girlfriend"  4:28
15."Wedding Bells"  4:19
16."Lately (Going Spare)"
  • Mount
  • Cash
3:40
17."Ur Mixtape"  1:39
Total length:54:43
Japanese edition bonus tracks[22]
No.TitleLength
18."Mellow Brass (Lately / Whitsand Bay)"4:42
19."Distant Horn (Salted Caramel Ice Cream)"3:45
Total length:63:21

Notes edit

  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer

Personnel edit

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Metronomy Forever.[23]

  • Joseph Mount – production (all tracks); mixing (tracks 1, 5, 8, 11–14, 16, 17)
  • Ash Workman – mixing (tracks 2, 9); additional production (track 9)
  • Anna Prior – backing vocals (track 2)
  • Jamie Snell – mixing (tracks 3, 4, 6, 7)
  • Pierre Rousseau – additional production (tracks 4, 6)
  • Mr. Oizo – additional production (track 10)
  • Dave Fridmann – mixing (track 15)
  • Oscar Cash – production, mixing (track 16)
  • Matt Colton – mastering
  • Anne Zeum – artwork
  • Aaron Larney – layout
  • Grégoire Alexandre – photography

Charts edit

Chart performance for Metronomy Forever
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 78
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[25] 28
French Albums (SNEP)[26] 19
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 68
Irish Albums (IRMA)[28] 78
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[29] 25
Scottish Albums (OCC)[30] 18
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[31] 54
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 32
UK Albums (OCC)[33] 15

References edit

  1. ^ Cabré, Alex (13 September 2019). "Metronomy - Metronomy Forever". DIY. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Metronomy return with first new song in three years "Lately": Stream". Consequence of Sound. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Metronomy announce new album, Metronomy Forever, share "Salted Caramel Ice Cream": Stream". Consequence of Sound. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Stream Metronomy – "Walking in the Dark"". Consequence of Sound. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Metronomy share new song 'Wedding Bells'". DIY. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  6. ^ Vimeo.com/benhanratty Ben Hanratty's Vimeo Portfolio, Retrieved 22 March, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "Metronomy Forever – Metronomy". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  8. ^ Metronomy Share ‘Insecurity’ Video DIY Retrieved 22 March, 2023.
  9. ^ Metronomy Share New Video For 'Whitsand Bay' DIY Retrieved 22 March, 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Viva Forever: Metronomy". DIY. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  11. ^ a b c Dazed (31 May 2019). "Metronomy reckon with eternity on their upcoming sixth album". Dazed. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  12. ^ a b Ross, Annabel. "Metronomy on "Metronomy Forever"". www.undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Metronomy Forever by Metronomy". Metacritic.
  14. ^ White, Adam (12 September 2019). "Album reviews: Pixies – Beneath the Eyrie, Jenny Hval – The Practice of Love, and Metronomy Forever". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022.
  15. ^ Smith, Thomas (13 September 2019). "Metronomy – 'Metronomy Forever' review". New Musical Express.
  16. ^ Cliff, Aimee (17 September 2019). "Metronomy: Metronomy Forever". Pitchfork.
  17. ^ "Gigwise's 51 Best Albums of 2019". Gigwise. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  18. ^ "Top 100 Albums of 2019". Les Inrocks. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  19. ^ Babey, Ged (14 December 2019). "Albums of the Year 2019". Louder Than War. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  20. ^ "Albums of the Year 2019". Rough Trade. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  21. ^ Redfern, Mark (31 December 2019). "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2019". Under the Radar. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  22. ^ "Metronomy Forever" (in Japanese). Caroline International. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  23. ^ Metronomy Forever (liner notes). Metronomy. Because Music. 2019. BEC5650090.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – Metronomy – Metronomy Forever" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – Metronomy – Metronomy Forever" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  26. ^ "Lescharts.com – Metronomy – Metronomy Forever". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  27. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Metronomy – Metronomy Forever" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  28. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Metronomy". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  29. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Metronomy – Metronomy Forever". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  30. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  31. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Metronomy – Metronomy Forever". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  32. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Metronomy – Metronomy Forever". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  33. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 September 2019.