Joseph Mount, the founder and leader of Metronomy, started the act with nothing more than a laptop. The UK group now consists of 3 other members, and its more recent releases—The English Riviera from 2011, Love Letters from 2013 & Summer 08 from 2016— are catchy indie/synth pop efforts. Pip Paine, Metronomy’s 2006 debut, however, is mostly an instrumental affair, and rather than sing-along hooks and approachable melodies, the band churns out off-kilt electro full of weird bleeps, synth scribbles, fuzzy guitar riffs, sitting atop jittery drums. It’s brilliant how all the aforementioned, seemingly annoying elements come together to create this exciting, danceable, energetic, and just-flat-out-good album: check out “Trick or Treatz,” “this Could Be Beautiful (It Is),” “You Could Easily Have Me,” and “1 String Strung.” This the first time the 2006 album is available on vinyl.

• first time on vinyl
• includes CD of album
• music label: Because Music 2006 / 2016

reviewed by donut savage 07/2016