Metronomes

Discography:

Travel Sports CD DIP007 (2004)
Mont Blanc EP (self released) (2005)
Play Dead Compliation 'Swiss Prints' (2005)
Metronomes / Jacob's Stories Split CD DIP014(2005)
Canoe CD DIP024 (2006)
Past, Present & Future Gravity Dip Sampler 'Long Way Down'(2006)
'Herzog & the Monsters' Soundtrack to Animated Short by Lesley Barnes (2006)
'Warm Water' EP DOLA001(2007)
'Portraits of a Clandestine Mind' Soundtrack to Animated Short by Gilbert Gonzalez(2007)
'Floating Heads' Soundtrack to Short Film by Sathya Vijayendran (2007)
Tobias Hellkvist / Metronomes SPLIT EP (Dolceola 2008)
Metronomes/Buddy Peace 'Gone Phishing' EP (Dolceola 2008)
Releases are distributed by Shellshock and available in all good record shops or order on-line at www.banquetrecords.com
"Metronomes is the brainchild of Al Paxton, guitarist in Scots indie rockers Stapleton. However, with Metronomes, he can really put his talents to full use by exploring a rich tapestry of sounds and textures. On 'Canoe', Paxton's second solo album he takes the listener on a lo-fi sonic journey in which velvety basslines dissolve into liquid guitars, puncuated by dreamy keyboards, electronica and samples. Twisting, turning and meandering on its way. 'Canoe' offers up new surprises on each subsequent listen. In gems like 'Coldest Capital Cities', 'Accidental Birds' and 'Every Passing Car', Paxton really hits the spot with sumptuously crafted melodies that make you feel like you're drifting on clouds. Perfect chill-out music!" (Rock Sound)
"Metronomes are a quiet proposition and far more experimental. Ambience, post-rock, jazz, folk and electronica all collide with startling effect to create an incredible selection of tunes and soundscapes, largely devoid of vocals. It recalls The Durutti Column, Tortoise, Death Cab For Cutie and El Hombre Trajeado but follows it's own melodic path. I cannot stop listening to this LP and given the chance I reckon you'd be the same. Try to track it down, you will definitely not be disappointed." (Vic Galloway - BBC Air)

"The name may be plural but this is a one-man band. Metronomes is/are Al Paxton from angular noiseniks Stapleton, but this is far removed from that (or his other project Elements of the 70s) The 13 track album does feature guitar but is closer to, unexpectedly, electronica, and pretty good at that. The album is largely instrumental but by way of compensation there are title to conjure with - 'Coldest Capital Cities, 'Treasure Box X-ray' and (ahem) 'People in Glace Houses Shouldn't Throw Cones'. It manages to walk the line between jarring glitchcore and purely ambient background noise and indeed some perfectly hummable tunes, melding squelches and conventional guitar. The guiotar work itself again treads a middle line between the Durutti Column's complexity and the sparseness of post-rock. In all it's electro without the electronics. Unlikely as it that might sound, it works." ('Is This Music?)

Il y a d'abord cet artwork en forme d'invitation à la contemplation, simple mais respirant une harmonie douce et délicate. Puis vient le moment d'entrer dans l'univers d'Al Paxton. Débutent alors les premières mesures de Canoe, avec ses compositions qui s'étirent encore et encore, sans jamais perdre de leur étonnant magnétisme ("Hirta"). On pense alors aux personnages du film Lost in Translation, errant la nuit et sans repère dans les rues de Tokyo, dans un monde dont ils sont complètement étrangers ("Coldest capital cities"). Lunaire, délicatement hypnotique et envoûtante, la musique de Metronomes se fait alors plus organique et évolue dans une nouvelle direction. Quelques textures éléctro viennent ainsi se mêler aux nappes instrumentales du post-rock acoustique d'Al Paxton, avant que les choeurs n'accomplissent leur oeuvre, faisant par là-même entrer "Hammers by day, windchimes by night" dans une autre dimension musicale. Quelque part entre les Boards of Canada et Sigur Ros, ce qui, soit dit en passant, donne une certaine idée de la largeur du spectre, l'approche de Metronomes pourrait être reliée avec celle des 65daysofstatic... pour un résultat pourtant bien différent. Le songe nocturne touche à sa fin, place au réveil, toujours en douceur... Plus aéré, plus post-pop et léger, des titres tels que "Grape lakes" ou le délicat "Zermatt" sont là pour plonger l'auditeur dans une torpeur semi-consciente, celle du retour à la réalité après un séjour dans les bras de Morphée. Procédant par touches discrètes, Metronomes orchestre ses compositions lentement mais avec une assurance évidente. Un sens de la rythmique particulièrement affirmé sur "People in glace houses shouldn't throw cones", des mélodies pop éléctro-acoustiques raffinées et des arrangements ("Cowns in the corn"), quelques petites trouvailles sonores ci et là (le cristallin "All the flags"), Al Paxton repousse sans cesse les limites du concept Metronomes, cherchant toujours plus à réinventer la musique que l'on découvre sur Canoe (l'expérimental "Treasure box X-ray"). Et le multi-instrumentaliste de livrer au passage quelques pièces d'orfévrerie de haute volée. On pense notamment à "Cape diving" et sa mélodie au piano dopée par une rythmique lorgnant du côté du hip-hop (sic...), ou le "Wallpaper" qui conclue l'album. Porté par un chant tout en retenue, une mélodie aussi rêveuse que dépouillée et un songwriting soigné, Metronomes livre avec ce morceau la conclusion idéale à un album qui, bien que n'atteignant pas encore la perfection, s'en rapproche dangereusement...(W-Fenec)

"For his second album as Metronomes Al Paxton once again makes a sharp departure from his day job as frontman of Glaswegian band Stapleton. Combining the sounds of The KLFs Chill Out album, Boards Of Canada, Caribou and post-rockers Explosions In The Sky, Canoe is an album to get lost in. Often it will lull you into a trance with repetitive loops before changing very slightly but enough to give you a sudden but pleasant jolt.

This is not laziness on the part of Paxton though; this is an album based on subtlety and its that subtlety that gives it its edge. It has an almost lullaby-like quality but theres enough happening to keep you interested and, perhaps more importantly, keep you from falling asleep.

If, like me, you struggle to find albums that are quiet but engaging enough for your more relaxed moods then you need look no further than this." (Indigo Flow)

"Upon listening to Canoe, it's clear that Paxton has not lost any of the magic which made his debut so special - it's another introspective and captivating offering: the instrumental tracks remaining calm without drawing too languid and always retaining the hint of quirkiness so synonymous with Metronomes. There's high points aplenty - after the totally guitar-led opener of 'Hirta', there's the dreamy 'Hammers by Day, Windchimes by Night' and the dirty shuffle of 'People in Glace Houses Shouldn't Throw Cones'. The familiar 'Grape Lakes' harks back to Travel Sports in its lively guitar shapes and rich texturing.

However, there's a few tracks on the album which are really reminiscent of the background music of those scenes in napoleon Dynamite when Kip and Lefawndah are 'flirting'...and once you get that image in your head, it's a hard one to remove. On occasion, you also get the feeling that perhaps Paxton does not know quite where to end a track with a couple drawing on just a little too long before fading out. It's no coincidence that the best and most memorable tracks on here are the shortest ones. That said, any duff track on this album is more than made up for by album closer 'Wallpaper', a quiet guitar/voice ditty which so perfectly encapsulates Paxton's musical talent in an all-too-brief two minutes.