It's astonishing to think that legendary record label Sub Pop has notched up over thirty years of album releases. Home to the wave of grunge bands that brought notoriety to the label in the late eighties/early nineties, the fact that they continue to enable artists like the Toronto 3-piece Metz to have an outlet is just the ticket.
It seems almost a lifetime ago I happened upon ‘Felt Mountain’, the beguilingly ethereal Goldfrapp debut, Alison’s seductive tones part Marlene Dietrich, part Kate Bush, expertly wrapping themselves around nine lavishly produced mini-musicals, every one capable of gracing the next Bond film. Six more albums have followed at fairly regular intervals, each an evolution from its predecessor, the most recent being this spring’s release ‘Silver Eye’, a return to the electronic heartland dominating the band’s middle years; the subsequent 14-date supporting European tour bringing our heroine to a pretty full but not quite brimming Leeds 02 Academy.
