Rabat – “Do you prefer if I speak in English or bad French?” Metronomy front man Joseph Mount asked the Jazzablanca crowd on the fourth night of Jazzablanca, July 2-7. “Not French!” the assembled crowd of eager fans cried in response.
“It’s the first time we’ve been to Casablanca. In fact, it’s the first time that a lot of us have been to this continent, and it’s quite special for us,” Mount told the audience.
“I wish we were here for longer. But what I want to say is [that] so far, we love Morocco,” he went on, to cheers from the crowd.
“And what I’d like to say as well is that, so far, we love the Moroccan food we’ve had. It’s also fair to say we love the people we’ve met so far,” strumming the early bars of their hit “Love Letters,” from their 2014 album of the same name.
Over its 20 year history, Metronomy’s international following has seen them play the hallowed stages of California’s Coachella and England’s Glastonbury.
The band began its journey from the UK to international fame in 1999. Their 2006 debut, Pip Paine (Pay the £5000 You Owe) put the group on the map, followed in 2008 by their album Nights Out, which sold 40,000 copies in Europe alone.
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Metronomy’s set at Jazzablanca drew from the band’s impressive repertoire, including songs from albums released a decade ago, to hits released last month. The prolific ensemble, who have released 5 albums to date, also gave the audience a taste of upcoming album, Metronomy Forever.
“This next song is about ice cream,” Mount said before launching into a performance of their disco ballad “Salted Caramel Ice Cream,” released on June 19, 2019.
Metronomy also played some of their classic tracks including the punchy, percussive hit “Old Skool” from their 2016 album, Summer 08.
The five-person band developed a playful interaction with the audience, trusting Mount, guitarist and lead vocals, to at times tease, and, at others, flatter the audience.
“We want to come back. If you want us to come back one day, we’d love to,” crooned Mount from the stage.
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The group wrapped up their 1 hour 30 minute set with “The Look,” a hazy tune sung in falsetto from album The English Riviera, which came out in 2011.
Having graced the stage at Jazzablanca, Metronomy will now continue their tour in Spain, France, Portugal, and Belgium.
