Metronomy - Not Made For Love

As suddenly as a founding member leaves, Metronomy, out of nowhere, release an EP showcasing their new line-up. But how things have changed. Melancholy seems to have taken over the Metronomy camp; gone are the days of the superbly flustered ‘Radio Ladio’ and everything else we loved about ‘Nights Out’, which have been replaced with heel-dragging ballad-esque electronica.

With only three tracks to call their own (the rest being remixes by other artists) this is where the band had a chance to shine. However, two of these prove to be the EP fodder, those songs you skip when you want to listen to a specific band on a short journey, which requires you to toss aside the bad and crank up the good to an ear-splitting volume. Title track ‘Not Made For Love’ is a sentimentally bland offering, reminiscent of Hot Chip’s quieter moments, with gentle synths and Joseph Mount’s vocals caressing our ears whilst telling us “you made a big mistake”. We’re not sure it’s us who’ve made the mistake, Joseph.

‘What Do I Do Now?’ is a more pleasant affair, giving us wavering synths, delicate Daft Punk-style vocals and a chilled out atmosphere. Although this doesn’t ‘save’ the EP as such, it’s more along the lines of what we expected to hear, which is, at least, a relief. That’s not to say this is an especially bad EP. There are some decent remixes, particularly the Wild Geese remix of ‘Do the Right Thing’, but let’s hope this is only an interim sound for Metronomy between ‘Nights Out’ and their next album.