Metric Talk Polaris 2009 Nomination

Metric's fourth album, Fantasies, was short listed for the Polaris Music Prize on Tuesday, and singer Emily Haines and guitarist Jimmy Shaw attribute the album's inclusion on the list to a combination of hard work and what they call "indie gambling."

Fantasies was released on Last Gang at home in Canada and on Arts & Crafts in Mexico, but the band put it out independently in the United States, Europe, Japan and New Zealand. Shaw also built his own record studio, Giant Studios, with Sebastien Grainger, which was where Fantasies was recorded. Haines says both those things made Fantasies exciting to make.

"I think it was the fact that we were simultaneously building — making not just a record, but making a recording studio and setting up an international record label," she says. "I think people don't realize that we've done that, necessarily, so it's like a really major commitment financially and in terms of energy and it's the next step of indie gambling.

"It's been amazing for us because we have a lot more at stake than most people when they make a record. We put everything that we earned into making this, so it's really nice that it's registering. I think that's part of it."

The gamble seems to have paid off. In April, the Los Angeles Times reported Fantasies had sold over 24,000 copies since its release earlier that month, and 9,000 of those copies were sold in the United States. Then, Metric had also already made more gross revenue off Fantasies than they did from 2005's Live It Out, which sold more than 45,000 copies.

"Any moment that music came back out of the studios that we didn't like, we scrapped it," Shaw says.

"No matter how much it cost or no matter how much later the record came out," Haines interjects. "We have a lot of respect for our listeners. You know, we literally started out playing shows to 15 people and seen that grow to 15,000, so we owe it to our listeners.

"So I'd say what I'm most proud of about the record is that we didn't waste our time."

Metric have these shows lined up:

July 9 Ottawa, ON @ LeBreton Flats (Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest)
July 16 Quebec City, QC @ L'Imperial De Quebec
July 26 Burnaby, BC @ Deer Lake Park (Virgin Festival BC)
Aug. 9 Calgary, AB @ Olympic Park (Virgin Festival Alberta)
Aug. 11 Hasselt, Belgium @ Pukkelpop Festival
Aug. 23 Biddinghuizen, Netherlands @ Evenemententerrein Walibi World (Lowlands Festival)
Aug. 28 Leeds, England @ Bramham Park (Leeds Festival)
Aug. 29 Reading, England @ Richfield Avenue (Reading Festival)
Sept. 26 Brisbane, Australia @ Riverstage And City Botanic Gardens (Parklife Festival)
Sept. 27 Perth, Australia @ Wellington Square (Parklife Festival)
Oct. 3 Melbourne, Australia @ Birrarung Marr (Parklife Festival)
Oct. 4 Sydney, Australia @ Moore Park (Parklife Festival)
Oct. 5 Adelaide, Australia @ Botanic Park at Botanic Gardens Of Adelaide (Parklife Festival)