It is rarely that a band markets extreme contradiction with critical success; With a pretentious shudder, rap-rock comes to mind. Though, especially in the last few years, bands have tried to skirt the dangerous no man’s land between tweedy pop and jaded emotive introspection, it seems they either slide into hormone-driven pop punk clichés or end up living comfortably along side the creditable members of the recent acoustic rock bloom.

With their new record, Socialize, The Metal Hearts strike an uncomfortable peace accord with the characteristically evanescent energies of indie music. While, like their contemporaries, airing on the side of understatement, the band makes real strides to deal with the lack of guttural angst in wispy pop. They valiantly take on the ominous proposition of almost novelty-bedroom-DJ sounding drum loops and stay solidly cloistered in the current vein of listenable independent pop.

The album predictably rests in slow, drifting melodies, but The Metal Hearts’s use of strings, saxophones, and drum loops give their music a dark savvy. Again, I’ll put their sound in terms of a contradiction by calling it both cosmopolitan and primitive, for me, redolent of last year’s Gnostic full length by Vancouver BC’s Black Mountain. More irresponsible but necessary comparisons would include the Stars of Track and Field (similar drum looping tactics) and Modest Mouse’s Moon and Antarctica LP (listen to the desolate vocals).

To be sure, there are several points on Socialize where the Metal Hearts do fall short of profundity. Some songs would rather just exist, and certainly the lyrics won’t appear on the sweaty lips of motivational speakers any time soon. However, the album’s tedious arc does not spell disaster because all of this obfuscation, of course, is part of the game.

I really can’t stress enough how much I feel the saxophone works with the drum loops and guitars on this record. Its paroxysmal impositions illuminate the constant drone of the drums in a way that flatters the whole work. Although seldom appearing, I think the sax might be the sound that carries the Metal Hearts away from awkward snare loops, the tired whimsy of plucked guitars, and quiet "passing afternoons," into something coldly genuine.