Canadian punks METZ have today announced their fifth studio album and shared not one but two tracks from it.
Up On Gravity Hill will be released on April 12 by Sub Pop, and has been trailed by two songs, 99 and Entwined (Street Light Buzz).
The album is the band’s fifth, after their self-titled 2012 debut, 2015’s follow-up II, Strange Peace in 2017 and 2020’s Atlas Vending.
Once known for blowing out eardrums with their songs of joyous rage, METZ have, over their past few records, begun exploring ways to turn abrasiveness into atmospherics.
The evolution of their sound reflects the maturing of the band themselves, but also a changed world that demands nuance and compassion to comprehend and to survive.
To spotlight this evolution, the band has shared two contrasting songs from Up On Gravity Hill: the stomping motorik 99, and the charging and deeply melodic Entwined (Street Light Buzz), which offers a dreamier Swervedriver-esque guitar sheen.
METZ frontman Alex Edkins said: “These two songs couldn’t be more stylistically and thematically dissimilar. Entwined (Street Light Buzz) is a song about the deep connection humans can foster with one another and how we carry people with us forever, even after death.
“99 is about the scourge of corporate greed and bottom-line thinking that runs rampant in modern society. Anything for a buck is the message being sent to younger generations.”
METZ will be touring internationally to promote Up On Gravity Hill, with dates in North America from April 17 to May 17 and a run of UK and EU shows in November, along with summer festival appearances.
Up On Gravity Hill is available to pre-order now on CD/LP/downloadfrom Sub Pop. LP orders from independent record shops (find your nearest one here) and Mega Mart 2 (the new, UK-based sibling site to the Sub Pop Mega Mart) in the UK and Europe will receive the Loser Edition on opaque yellow vinyl.
