Fantasies (album)

Fantasies is the fourth studio album by Canadian indie rock band Metric. It was released on April 7, 2009. In the United States. it debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers, and peaked at No. 76 on the Billboard 200. As of October 2009 it had sold 76,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.[2] In Canada it debuted at No. 13 on the Canadian Albums Chart and peaked at No. 6. In Australia, the album debuted at No. 48.

Fantasies
Studio album by
Metric
ReleasedApril 7, 2009[1]
StudioElectric Lady Studios, New York; Metalworks Studios, Mississauga, Ontario
GenreIndie rock, new wave
Length42:30
LabelMetric Music International, Last Gang, Mom + Pop
ProducerGavin Brown & Jimmy Shaw
Metric chronology
Grow Up and Blow Away
(2007)		 Fantasies
(2009)		 Plug In, Plug Out
(2009)
Singles from Fantasies
  1. "Help I'm Alive"
    Released: December 23, 2008
  2. "Gimme Sympathy"
    Released: March 12, 2009
  3. "Sick Muse"
    Released: June 1, 2009
  4. "Gold Guns Girls"
    Released: April 25, 2010

Background

The first single release from the album, "Help I'm Alive", was added to the iTunes Store on December 23, 2008 in Canada. The single is also available on 7" vinyl from their website, and was available on their "Jingle Bell Rock" tour in December 2008. On February 13, 2009, the album cover's image was added to the song "Help, I'm Alive" on their MySpace playlist. On February 28, 2009, the band added the song "Gimme Sympathy" to their MySpace playlist.

The album was available through their website, in vinyl, deluxe hardcover, digital, or deluxe bundle packages. There was a Limited Edition Package available at first that was limited to 500 copies, which has now sold out.

Metric opted to self-release the album. The subsequent mainstream success of the album led The New York Times to use Metric as the central band in an article regarding the shrinking role of major labels in the music industry.[3]

The song "Front Row" was featured on an episode of Grey's Anatomy, and released as a single on iTunes the same day. Frontwoman Emily Haines told Drowned in Sound that "Front Row" was inspired by the novel Great Jones Street by Don DeLillo.[4] "Gold Guns Girls" was featured in the movie Zombieland as well as in an episode of the TV show Entourage, in the EA Sports game FIFA 10, as the intro and closing credits of Totally Spies: The Movie.[5] It was featured in the 2011 video game Test Drive Unlimited 2. "Help I'm Alive" was featured in an episode of The Vampire Diaries, and during the end credits of the 2009 movie Defendor.

The album was leaked, causing Metric to push the release date of the album forward one week to April 7.[1]

The album was released on iTunes on March 31, 2009.

The song "Black Sheep" was recorded for the album, but was ultimately left off because they felt that it 'too obviously reflected the band's sound'. It has since been released on the soundtrack for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.[6]

Singles
  • "Help, I'm Alive" (December 23, 2008) (No. 21 CAN)[7]
  • "Front Row" (March 12, 2009) (No. 65 CAN)[7]
  • "Gimme Sympathy" (Radio promo only) (No. 52 CAN)[7]
  • "Sick Muse" (June 1, 2009)
  • "Gold Guns Girls" (Radio promo only) (December 2009) (No. 88 CAN)[7]
  • "Stadium Love" (video released May 28, 2010)

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.1/10[8]
Metacritic77/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
The A.V. ClubB[11]
Blender[12]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[13]
The Guardian[14]
Los Angeles Times[15]
NME8/10[16]
Pitchfork6.4/10[17]
Rolling Stone[18]
Spin7/10[19]

Reception to the album has been highly positive. It currently holds a 77 rating on Metacritic, from 29 reviews.[9] Amazon.com listed Fantasies at eleventh in its "Best Albums of 2009" list.[20] The single "Gimme Sympathy" has been popular among alternative rock radio stations.

The album was a shortlisted nominee for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize,[21] and also won two Casby Awards on October 22, 2009; the NXNE favourite new indie release award and favourite new album award.[22] Fantasies ranked at number 26 on Stereogum's Best Album 2009.[23]

The album also reached platinum status in Canada selling over 80,000 copies.[24] On April 18, 2010, the album won the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year at the 2010 Awards, as well as the band winning Group of the Year. As of 2012 it has sold 500,000 copies.

The album's song "Stadium Love" was named the official song of the Toronto Blue Jays for 2013. As of the 2014-15 NHL season, it was also the goal song for the Edmonton Oilers.[25][26]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Metric.

No.TitleLength
1."Help I'm Alive"4:45
2."Sick Muse"4:17
3."Satellite Mind"3:42
4."Twilight Galaxy"4:53
5."Gold Guns Girls"4:05
6."Gimme Sympathy"3:54
7."Collect Call"4:46
8."Front Row"3:34
9."Blindness"4:26
10."Stadium Love"4:13
Pre-order bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Help I'm Alive" (acoustic version)4:49
12."Waves" (limited edition bonus track)3:06
13."Gimme Sympathy" (acoustic version)3:27
14."Nobody Home" (Pink Floyd cover)3:14
UK hidden tracks
No.TitleLength
11."The Gates"3:09
12."Gimme Sympathy" (acoustic version)3:28
13."Waves"3:05
14."Nobody Home" (Pink Floyd cover)3:13
UK deluxe edition
No.TitleLength
11."Waves" (exclusive B-Side)3:07
12."The Gates" (exclusive B-Side)3:10
13."Help I'm Alive" (acoustic)4:52
14."Gimme Sympathy" (acoustic)3:29
15."Sick Muse" (acoustic)4:48
16."Sick Muse" (Adam Freeland Remix)6:05
17."Gimme Sympathy" (Adam Freeland Remix)5:52
18."Help I'm Alive" (Twelves Remix)4:25
19."Nobody Home" (Pink Floyd cover)3:15
20."Sugar Mountain" (Neil Young cover)5:31
Expanded edition – Disc two (MET80019X)
No.TitleLength
1."Black Sheep" 
2."Sick Muse" (Adam Freeland Remix) 
3."Gimme Sympathy" (Adam Freeland Remix) 
4."Gold Guns Girls" (Mike Shinoda Remix) 
5."Help I'm Alive" (Twelves Remix) 
6."Waves" 
7."The Gates" 
8."Eclipse (All Yours)" (acoustic) 
9."Sugar Mountain" (Neil Young cover) 
10."Help I'm Alive" (acoustic) 
Spotify covers EP[27]
No.TitleLength
1."Nobody Home" (Pink Floyd cover) 
2."Paranoid Eyes" (Pink Floyd cover) 
3."Sugar Mountain" (Neil Young cover) 
4."It's a Sin" (Pet Shop Boys cover) 
5."Black History Month" (Death from Above 1979 cover) 
6."Perfect Day" (Lou Reed cover) 
Spotify acoustic EP[28]
No.TitleLength
1."Help I'm Alive" 
2."Gold Guns Girls" 
3."Gimme Sympathy" 
4."Satellite Mind" 
5."Twilight Galaxy" 
6."Front Row" 
7."Sick Muse" 

Personnel

The album was produced by Gavin Brown and James Shaw and mixed by John O'Mahony.

Charts
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart 48
Canadian Albums Chart 6
US Billboard 200 76
US Billboard Tastemakers 11
US Billboard Top Independent Albums 6
US Billboard Top Rock Albums 22
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References
  1. Thiessen, Brock (2009-03-12). "Metric Move Up Fantasies Release, Plan Special Surprise For Canada • News •". Exclaim.ca. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2012-05-14.
  2. https://perpetua.tumblr.com/post/293484776/pitchfork-top-10-albums-in-us-sales
  3. Stone, Brad (July 22, 2009). "Artists Find Backers as Labels Wane". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  4. "Front Row". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
  5. "Gold Guns Girls – Metric – Listen, Appearances, Song Review – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  6. Martens, Todd (August 14, 2010). "Track-by-track: Beck, Nigel Godrich, Emily Haines, Bryan Lee O'Malley & Edgar Wright dissect the 'Scott Pilgrim' music". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  7. https://www.billboard.com/music/metric/chart-history/CAN
  8. "Fantasies by Metric reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  9. "Reviews for Fantasies by Metric". Metacritic. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  10. Sendra, Tim. "Fantasies – Metric". AllMusic. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  11. Ryan, Kyle (April 21, 2009). "Metric: Fantasies". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  12. Dolan, Jon. "Metric: Fantasies". Blender. Archived from the original on April 15, 2009. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  13. Pastorek, Whitney (April 14, 2009). "Fantasies". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  14. Hann, Michael (April 16, 2009). "Metric: Fantasies". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  15. Martens, Todd (April 14, 2009). "Album review: Metric's 'Fantasies'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  16. Cooper, Leonie (April 21, 2009). "Metric: Fantasies". NME. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  17. Raber, Rebecca (April 13, 2009). "Metric: Fantasies". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  18. Hoard, Christian (April 1, 2009). "Metric: Fantasies". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 5, 2009. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  19. Thomas, Lindsey (April 2009). "Metric: Fantasies". Spin. 25 (4): 80. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  20. Profis, Michelle (2011-11-22). "Amazon.com releases its Best Albums of 2009 list, kicks off inevitable critical slap-fight | The Music Mix | EW.com". Music-mix.ew.com. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  21. "Fucked Up Win Polaris Prize". Clickmusic. 2009-09-23. Archived from the original on 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  22. Harper, Kate (2009-10-23). "Metric's Fantasies Finally Wins Something (A CASBY)". CHARTattack. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  23. "Gummy Awards: Best Album 2009". Archived from the original on December 13, 2009.
  24. "Gold and Platinum". Cria.ca. Archived from the original on 2010-03-24. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  25. http://news.nationalpost.com/arts/music/how-metrics-stadium-love-became-the-official-anthem-of-the-2013-toronto-blue-jays
  26. http://www.edmontonsun.com/2014/10/10/oilers-unveil-new-goal-song-metrics-stadium-love
  27. http://open.spotify.com/album/7dX5nH28KN6JIpVgLevrIO
  28. http://open.spotify.com/album/0O4DqnzoZYgNzDrMHWX7B1
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