Metronomy - She Wants

Dance songs are a dime a dozen these days. So how do you make yours stand out? In the case of Metronomy’s next single, ‘She Wants’, it’s all about a killer groove balanced with cautionary restraint. The track comes from the band’s highly anticipated third album, ‘The English Riviera’, due out later this year.

Unlike songs by the likes of Ke$ha and Lady Gaga, this one by Joseph Mount and company is a concerted effort in minimalisation. That is, there is nothing in your face about ‘She Wants’: you won’t be shocked, stunned or coerced into submission. There is no gimmickry here; instead, the insistent drum beats and the droning synth in the background lull you into a false sense of complacency until you stop and realise, wait a minute, the tune is in your head. The ephemeral words “the hours come / the hours go” are on your lips. Fleeting like a lover’s kiss, it leaves you wanting more, which is probably what Mount had hoped for in the first place.

The bass line is perfect - not too much, not too little. Unlike ‘Radio Ladio’, there is no disco hangover, no squealing synth action, and in this case, that’s perfectly fine. With ‘She Wants’, less is definitely more.