Metronomy at Metro, 5/21/14

By Melissa Bordeau

The Metro overflowed with energy last Wednesday night at the Metronomy show. You could not only feel the excitement, but see it--almost every person danced and sang along to the cool synth-pop tunes after the London-based group took the stage, looking amazing in their matching white suits glowing against the cool blue and purple lights.

Metronomy played all of their best songs from their latest, fourth album Love Letters, but mixed up the set with old time favorites like “Radio Ladio” and the very popular 2012 hit “The Look.” The crowd went especially wild during “I’m Aquarius," a song off Love Letters.

“This is an exciting night for us. The Metro is the largest venue we’ve performed at in Chicago,” exclaimed lead singer Joseph Mount in the middle of their set. The 1,100 capacity venue was pretty packed for a Wednesday night in Chicago.

Mount is the original member of Metronomy, which he started as a solo project when he was a teenager. A few years later, in 2005, he released Metronomy’s debut album Pip Paine (Pay the 5000 You Owe). The album got little recognition, which encouraged Mount to focus on his live shows. He wanted to invite people to perform with him, to improve his performances. So his cousin Oscar Cash (keyboards, saxophone, vocals) and an old friend Gabriel Stebbing (who is not apart of the group anymore) joined in. Eventually Metronomy started to earn praise for their live shows.

Since then, Metronomy has added two members to the current group, Anna Prior (drums, vocals) and Gbenga Adelekan (bass, vocals). Adelekan can easily steal the show with his dance moves and lovable smile, while Prior delights as an amazing drummer. The whole group really has a lot of charm.

Metronomy’s encore was their 2009 hit, “Heartbreaker.” During this song it was as if you were at a punk rock show as most of the crowd was headbanging and dancing like crazy. It was a very lively, fitting ending to their set. I am sure Metronomy will be back in Chicago to play even larger venues very soon.

Check out Metronomy's "I'm Aquarius" below.