by LORRAINE CARPENTER

Like their childhood friends and musical compadres Stars and Broken Social Scene, Metric was born a Toronto-based electro-pop duo before taking on new members to flesh out and liven up their sound. Singer/keyboardist Emily Haines and guitarist James Shaw enlisted bassist Josh Winstead and drummer Joules Scott-Key to record Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?, their tight, smart flexi-pop debut released last summer by Last Gang Records. Now based in L.A., the nomadic quartet are jetting back to Brooklyn to record their next album, but not before a little double duty with "Broken," whom they'll be both supporting and joining on stage. The Mirror spoke to Haines about feeling free to be hot.

Mirror: I've read several Metric reviews where the writer uses your sex appeal as the springboard for criticism. That must be tiresome.

Emily Haines: Yeah, seriously. A guy from LA Weekly described me as a young ingénue who's desperate for a record deal, and it was just so gross. I'm definitely battling the feeling that the press sees me as this tart jumping around wanting attention and that's not what I'm doing. I'm trying to set myself free over here, do you know what I'm saying? It's annoying to be misunderstood but I feel like the audience gets what I'm doing and they get what I'm not.

M: I bet you weren't always so confident on stage.

EH: My early performances were really not that compelling. I was appropriately reserved, dressed according to indie rock rules, jeans and a T-shirt, saying nothing, doing nothing too brave and I always felt really unsatisfied with my performance and so did the audience. As a serious musician, I wanted to separate myself from the pop tarts so I resigned myself to acting like a guy, and I was unhappy. I was completely limiting myself by thinking that it's superficial of me to be a girl, to wear a fucking skirt.

M: So what changed?

EH: Now I just feel like it's not my problem if someone wants to sexualize me, but isn't that such an old thing to say? Haven't we already seen the model of the woman who sets herself free by claiming her own sexuality? It should be so established, feminist rhetoric is all over the place, but you act on it and people still don't know what the fuck you're doing.

M: On a related note, I read an article where you complain about confessional lyrics expected from female singer-songwriters, and you also said, "No love songs!" I get your point, but isn't that limiting too?

EH: I just feel like it's been covered, that there's a glut of romantic music. I'm full of love over here, it's just not what I feel like writing about. People may be more comfortable with the precious confessions of a lonely, quiet girl but I want the writing to connect with people and deal with being alive right now. That's what excites me, the feeling that I'm not the only person who's a little flaked out by the state of things, and I don't think I'd ever get that validation writing about various shades of my own private emotions.

With Broken Social Scene at Cabaret du Plateau
on Friday, Dec. 5, 9pm, $14.50

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