Metz - M.E. EP

Toronto’s noise trio Metz recently released a solid album’s worth of non-LP singles and alternate takes entitled Automat (reviewed here). Vinyl purchasers were also treated to three cover songs that are now being made more widely available via streaming services as the M.E. EP. The first two tracks are brief bursts of punky noise. The static haze that hovers over ‘Pig’ puts an appropriate pall over one of Sparklehorse’s (aka the dearly departed Mark Linkous) more incongruous songs. The similarly short cover of The Urinals’ ‘I’m A Bug’, mirrors the early L.A. punk band’s minimalist approach. Though not as unfortunately still relevant as the earlier band’s ‘Ack Ack Ack’, which was repeatedly covered by The Minutemen, it's still a buzzy little memento of a simpler time. Both of these tracks were respectively “available” via a 2012 split single and on YouTube.

The real reward here though is the previously unreleased cover of Gary Numan’s robot diary entry ‘M.E.’ Metz mines the dark vein of synths and drum machines that Numan expertly used to plumb the depths of their most experimental recording to date. It’s not clear when the track was recorded, but its five minute running time allows the song to breathe and bleed beyond its mechanical boundaries. It’s not even certain if what Metz has replicated here is done via synths and drum machines or treated guitars and drums, but it’s not to be missed. The track would have been a standout on Automat, and if it’s of more recent vintage adds an air of excitement to the band’s rumored next LP.