Metropolitan
Down For You Is Up
(Crank Automotive)
by Vincent Dee

  “Pitchfork would eat this up with a spoon,” I think, as I listen to Metropolitan’s debut full-length, Down For You Is Up. And why wouldn’t they? The songwriting is fantastic, there’s energy to spare, and the production is about as dry as dry gets.

Upon cursory first listen, the record even sounds a bit like something the D-Plan might’ve put out at some point; this is not coincidence, as Down For You Is Up was produced by Chad Clark, who engineered the D Plan’s entire catalogue, in  addition to some latter-day Fugazi records. It was also recorded at Arlington’s now-legendary Inner Ear Studios, whose reverb unit, I can only assume, was didactically smashed to hell by an infuriated Ian MacKaye.

      Metropolitan is more melodic, less deliberate sounding than a lot of other DC bands, though; it’s not the sneering, biting rock typically associated with the region. They seem to have successfully avoided the unison anthem epidemic that has claimed so many DC area musicians, and instead, have written some great, memorable pop songs. Album highlights “Long Distance Dedication,” “Slide Rule,” and “Westmoreland” will all get stuck in your head, and you’ll like it.

      And they make me want to dance—I, of course, don’t, but I have only myself to blame. Saadat Awan’s drum tracks are driving backbeats; Shyam Telikicherla’s bass riffs are worthy of Peter Hook. He was in Joy Division. The third factor in the equation is frontman / guitarist John Masters. Imagine a less Glenn Branca-influenced Thurston Moore, make him a little more optimistic about things and you’re about there. Sparing, catchy baritone vocals and a scratchy Jazzmaster point the band to some great, rough-around-the-edges alternative rock which sounds like it would’ve been more at home on SST than Dischord. You know, like, back in the day.

      Metropolitan is not completely without local influence, though. On some of Down For You Is Up, a Fugazi influence sort of rears its head—some of the more freeform tracks (“They Meet,” “The Explosion”) are loosely reminiscent of The Argument, and there’s a vague resemblance to some of Repeater. If anything, they come across as a more tuneful version of Dinosaur Jr. or a more straightforward version of Sonic Youth. Metropolitan’s biggest similarity to ‘80’s alternative, though, is that they’re doing something distinctive, and they’re doing it really well.

      The recording itself is a little spartan and scrappy sounding, but what Clark actually did manage to capture on tape (if this was done in ProTools, then someone seriously needs to be fired) was some really outstanding positive energy on the part of the band. And when a band is this good, whatever flaws may be present on record serve to make them sound more urgent, more earnest. On “Slide Rule,” for example, the underproduction shines with each obviously-not-tempo-mapped accent. It’s that sweaty, organic sound that can only come from a young band getting a break with a great producer in a historic studio.
      
       All in all, for a self-released demo, Down For You Is Up is a staggeringly solid effort; it seems like Metropolitan is a band with great things ahead of them, and they’re excited as hell.

Also Engineered by Chad Clark: The Dismemberment Plan Collection

Emergency & I	Change	!	The Ice of Boston
The Dismemberment Plan is Terrified	A People's History of the Dismemberment Plan	Dismemberment Plan / Juno Split EP Release