On Up On Gravity Hill, the new album by Toronto power-trio METZ, the band creates a kaleidoscopic sonic world as tender as it is dark, aided once again by engineer Seth Manchester (Mdou Moctar, Lingua Ignota, Battles, The Body). For those who believe in the power of the rock band to exemplify the highest resonance of human connection, there is much on Up On Gravity Hill to lift the spirit, a puzzle worth repeated listening to unlock or just to get lost in again and again. The album contains some of the most spacious, sympathetic, and accessible songs-could we call them pop?-of their career. If this seems contradictory, well, METZ has always been something of a contradiction. In the words of guitarist/vocalist Alex Edkins, "We've never been heavy enough for metal or hardcore purists, but we're way too heavy for indie rock. We just don't have a lane-and that's okay. We exist outside the lines of delineation. I think this record is even more like that."