Strange Peace

Strange Peace is the third studio album by Canadian noise rock three-piece band METZ. It was released on September 22, 2017 through Sub Pop Records. Live-to-tape recording sessions took place at Electrical Audio in Chicago with Steve Albini, at the Woodshed in Toronto and at Baskitball 4 Life with Graham Walsh, and at the Nursery with member Alex Edkins. Production was handled by METZ.

Strange Peace
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 22, 2017 (2017-09-22)
Studio
Genre
Length36:07
LabelSub Pop
ProducerMETZ
METZ chronology
II
(2015)
Strange Peace
(2017)
Atlas Vending
(2020)
Singles from Strange Peace
  1. "Cellophane"
    Released: July 11, 2017
  2. "Drained Lake"
    Released: August 2, 2017
  3. "Mess of Wires"
    Released: August 22, 2017
  4. "Common Trash"
    Released: September 22, 2017
  5. "Escalator Teeth/On and On"
    Released: September 27, 2018

Promotion and release

On July 11, 2017, the album was previewed with the release of the song "Cellophane" via streaming, along the way revealing the title of the album, its release date, track list, cover artwork and supporting tour.[1] It was also revealed that the band have worked with Steve Albini, who provided live-to-tape recording of Strange Peace during four days at his Chicago-based studio Electrical Audio, which was booked for a week by the trio.[2][3] On August 2, 2017, the group shared the second song from the album, "Drained Lake",[4] for which an acompaying music video was released later in October 2017.[5] The third promotional single from the album, "Mess of Wires", was released on August 22, 2017 also via streaming.[6] The fourth and final promotional single, "Common Trash" was released in CDr format along with the album on September 22, 2017.[7]

Celebrating 30 years of Sub Pop, the song "Escalator Teeth" b/w "On and On" was released as a part of 'SPF30 Singles Spectacular' series on September 27, 2018.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.4/10[8]
Metacritic78/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
The A.V. ClubB+[11]
DIY[12]
Exclaim!9/10[13]
The Irish Times[14]
Mojo[15]
Paste7.8/10[16]
Pitchfork7.6/10[17]
Record Collector[18]
Under the Radar[19]

Strange Peace was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 78 based on nineteen reviews.[9] The aggregator AnyDecentMusic? has the critical consensus of the album at a 7.4 out of 10, based on twenty reviews.[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Alex Edkins, Chris Slorach and Hayden Menzies

No.TitleLength
1."Mess of Wires"3:29
2."Drained Lake"3:05
3."Cellophane"4:13
4."Caterpillar"3:15
5."Lost in the Blank City"4:28
6."Mr. Plague"2:39
7."Sink"3:50
8."Common Trash"3:14
9."Escalator Teeth"0:47
10."Dig a Hole"1:15
11."Raw Materials"5:57
Total length:36:07

Personnel

  • Alex Edkins – lyrics, vocals, guitar, songwriter, producer, recording, mixing, art direction
  • Chris Slorach – bass, songwriter, producer, mixing, art direction
  • Hayden Menzies – drums, songwriter, producer, mixing, art direction
  • Graham Walsh – recording, mixing
  • Steve Albini – recording
  • Jeff Kleinsmith – art direction, design
  • Anna Edwards – live photography
  • Jonathan Bauerle – illustration

Charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[20] 17
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[21] 31
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[22] 11

References

  1. Geslani, Michelle (July 11, 2017). "METZ announce new album, Strange Peace, share roaring "Cellophane": Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  2. Khanna, Vish (September 20, 2017). "Inside the Making of METZ's 'Strange Peace' with Steve Albini". Exclaim!. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  3. Brown, Eric Renner (October 4, 2017). "Watch Toronto noise-rockers METZ in the studio with Steve Albini". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  4. Geslani, Michelle (August 2, 2017). "METZ unveil menacing new song "Drained Lake": Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  5. Gaca, Anna (October 26, 2017). "Video: METZ – "Drained Lake"". SPIN. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  6. Geslani, Michelle (August 22, 2017). "METZ preview new album with wild song "Mess of Wires": Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  7. Geslani, Michelle (September 22, 2017). "METZ release new album Strange Peace: Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  8. "Strange Peace by Metz reviews | Any Decent Music". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  9. "Critic Reviews for Strange Peace – Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  10. Deming, Mark. "Strange Peace – METZ | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  11. Ryan, Kyle (September 18, 2017). "Metz unites with Steve Albini to expand its attack on Strange Peace". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  12. Daly, Rhian. "METZ – Strange Peace". DIY. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  13. Khanna, Vish (September 22, 2017). "METZ Strange Peace". Exclaim!. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  14. Keane, Brian (September 21, 2017). "Metz review: Hardcore made even harder by Steve Albini". The Irish Times. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  15. Chick, Stevie (2017). Mojo – December 2017. Mojo. p. 94.
  16. Hart, Ron (September 21, 2017). "METZ: Strange Peace Review". Paste. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  17. Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby (September 23, 2017). "Metz: Strange Peace". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  18. Moores, JR (October 2017). "Strange Peace – Record Collector Magazine". Record Collector. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  19. Butler, Will (September 19, 2017). "Strange Peace". Under the Radar. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  20. "METZ Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  21. "METZ Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  22. "METZ Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
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