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Metric’s ‘Synthetica’ Single ‘Youth Without Youth’ Arrives With Fall Tour Dates

Metric / Photo by Brantley Gutierrez

Student loan debt is on a lot of people’s minds lately. Protesters gathered last week in New York and about 20 other cities to call for forgiveness of this debt load, which has reached $1 trillion nationally. President Barack Obama “slow jammed the news” with the Roots to argue for keeping interest rates low on subsidized student loans. Canadian indie-rockers Metric channeled their rage over the issue through what lead singer and keyboardist Emily Haines describes as “a kind of ’70s sleaze.”

“Youth Without Youth,” the first single from Metric’s upcoming album Synthetica, is a sludgy glam-rock stomper — call the beat “schaffel” if you listen to a lot of Kompakt minimal techno — haunted by lost childhood. The murming verses tell the story of a truly troubled kid, before a robotic backing vocal joins in on the live-wire hook. In a commentary track with Metric guitarist Jimmy Shaw and Haines, which you can listen to here, the singer adds, “You’re born free, but still that 250 grand in student debt really gets in the way of your ability to thrive.”

Synthetica, the follow-up to 2009’s Fantasies, will be out on June 12. Read more about the album here, and check out the band’s upcoming tour dates below. If you buy a ticket to a headlining show you will also receive a download of “Youth Without Youth” and digital copies of both Synthetica and five Synthetica Reflections tracks, which will arrive on release day.

Metric tour dates:
September 6 – Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall
September 8 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
September 9 – Covington, KY @ Madison Theatre
September 11 – Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre
September 14 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
September 17 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore
September 18 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
September 20 – Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
September 21 – Washington, DC @ The Strathmore
September 22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Tower Theater
September 23 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
September 27 – Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock
September 28 – Miami, FL @ The Fillmore
September 29 – Tampa, FL @ The Ritz
October 1 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
October 2 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
October 4 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
October 5 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
October 6 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
October 9 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre
October 10 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre