Metropolitan

Like an ever increasing number of American bands, DC post-punk art rock trio Metropolitan owe an awful lot to the arty by-product of the British new wave invasion of the early ’80s. Their bio would have you believe that it’s only American bands like Sonic Youth, Television and Velvet Underground that these guys count as influences, but like the Killers, the Bravery, the Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and a bunch of other "The” bands, it’s British bands like the Jam, Gang of Four and XTC whose sound most immediately comes to mind. That’s not to say Metropolitan’s third disc is entirely derivative, mind you. The band take familiar elements of quirky jagged beats, yelpy vocals and British Invasion-era psychedelic jams and make them their own. The band mixes it all together especially well on tracks like "Letterbox” and "Downstream.”