Despite Metronomy’s reputation for quirky live performances, which often feature dance routines and light shows in the form of chest-mounted push lights, the band tend to prefer more intimate shows. “We do feel more comfortable playing smaller stages or smaller venues for sure,” he says. “Sometimes festivals can be really enjoyable and sometimes they can be as stressful as hell but they’re still good to do just to keep you on your toes.”
I suggest that festivals are perhaps like the first date where you have to try and win your companion over, while sideshows are more like the third or fourth when you know they’re already keen. “Exactly!” he agrees, “And hopefully at the festivals they’re interested but it’s more of a quest.”
Visiting our shores for the fourth time in three years, the quartet has developed a special relationship with Australia. “There’s definitely a really nice connection,” Mount says. Coming for the first time as a three piece in 2009, “We had no idea what to expect and we just ended up having this ridiculously enjoyable time,” he recalls.
Mount notes that Australian audiences also seem very grateful, which makes the journey here worthwhile. The extensive touring the band have undertaken to promote new album; the Mercury-Prize nominated The English Riviera has made them nonchalant about travel. “We’ve reached the point where for us, a ten hour flight seems kind of normal.”
Despite a hectic Australian schedule, which sees the four-piece play Falls Music and Arts Festival, Southbound and Summafieldayze, Mount hopes to be able to add to his fond memories of our country. It will be the first time he has spent New Years outside of England and he’s going to do his best to join in the festivities, despite being booked in to play at Sydney’s Field Day on New Year’s Day. Ever the gentleman, Mount doesn’t want the seedy crowd to suffer alone. “It’s only right that we should be hungover too.”
Backing up their festival appearances will be a sideshow at The Hi-Fi on Friday January 6. It will have only been just over a year since Metronomy’s last visit to Oz so how has the show changed in that time? “We’ve kind of been touring with little gaps here and there since we were last in Australia. So in terms of the new songs, hopefully we play them better than we did before,” Mount notes modestly.
Considering the last time they were in Australia, The English Riviera hadn’t been released, Mount and band mates Oscar Cash, Anna Prior and Gbenga Adelekan are also looking forward to hearing fans singing along. “The nice thing is that last time we were in Australia, we were playing a lot of the newer songs for the very first time, we used you as guinea pigs. It’s the first time we’ll be playing new stuff and people will actually know the songs.”
While earlier records Pip Payne (Pay The £5000 You Owe) and Nights Out were filled with dance floor-friendly singles, The English Riviera is much more focused on creating an atmosphere within the album. So it was always going to be interesting to see how that translated into the live show. “With records, you can sit down and get lost in them,” Mount observes. “When you’re watching a band playing live you can never quite have that one-on-one connection.” But instead of trying to replicate the sound of the album, Metronomy have committed to creating a unique experience when they play. “When it comes to doing a live show, we always try and make it into something that is entertaining and something that is memorable for different reasons.”
The English Riviera is the first album Metronomy has released since swelling to a four piece but Mount (who writes and produces all the tracks) has remained faithful to the writing style which brought him success as a solo project. “I’m still writing the way I did when I first started and I hope that’s why the music is like it is and that’s why people like it. I wouldn’t ever really want to change it for the sake of it.” That said, “Now that there’s four of us, it’s a really nice opportunity to try and write in a different way.”
Their upcoming tour will also be a chance to see how tracks from the new album are received in Australia. Mount says that as the band has toured, they’ve noticed the way that tracks resonate with audiences differently. “We’d been playing The Bay all summer, but the first place we played it and people went crazy was Barcelona, which is by the sea and sunny. Whereas those colder English places go for The Look more.” He has been surprised by the way that the new songs have transformed when played live, especially The Look. “When you’re signing it in smaller parts of rural England, it has this weird significance that it doesn’t necessarily have on the record.”
Mount clearly takes the opinions of his fans seriously. “I’m really happy that we’re in this really lucky position that people are beginning to trust us a bit more,” he explains. The front man confides that as a teenager, his goal was to be in a band and travel and now that he’s doing that, his goal is just not to lose fans and keep people interested. “There’s nothing crazy,” he says of the band’s future aspirations. “Nothing like playing stadiums or anything like that. I think that would probably scare the crap out of me.”
