Watch Metric’s Emotive Performance Video for ‘Dressed to Suppress’

Metric singer Emily Haines makes a strong statement, both through lyrics and fashion, in the group’s new video for “Dressed to Suppress.” The song is their second release from their upcoming and as-yet-untitled LP and follows “Dark Saturday.” The album will be released on September 21st via MMI/Crystal Math Music.

In the new Justin Broadbent-directed clip, the band is filmed in black and white, performing the song live on a stage. The camera moves circularly, and showcases Haines mostly back lit and in shadowy silhouette, though there are shots that make a point of focusing on her sky-high heels. “We reach for things we idolize,” she sings over ascending riffs. “But the rings are just for show/ Her beauty is a form of charity/ Dressed to suppress all kinds of sorrow.”

At the end of the visual, Haines frees herself from that which seemingly inhibits her and saunters offstage, a symbolic mirroring of the song’s sentiments.

“Lyrically, the song explores the maze of conflicts we encounter in our attempts at finding and holding onto love; the absurd mating rituals we routinely perform; and the vast divide between the desires our appearances can imply and the way we actually feel inside,” Haines said in a statement. “Sonically, it’s one of the most intense songs on the album.

“We’re already playing it live and it’s getting stronger every night,” she continued. “The contrast between the delicate, dreamy opening and the heavy riffs of the verse and chorus match the dramatic emotional shifts we all go through when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable, the push and pull of retaining our own identities in love.”

Metric’s seventh studio album follows their 2015 LP, Pagans in Vegas. The group recorded the new material at their own Giant Studio in Toronto with producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen. The as-yet-untitled record is available to pre-order via Metric’s website.