Article and Photos by Andrés Alvarado

North American neighbors invaded the States — specifically the breezy streets of Atlanta — on this chilly Sunday, when Canadian new-wave rockers, Metric, and Mexican psychedelic rock group, Zoé, teamed up to perform before a sold-out crowd at the gnarly Tabernacle venue. At initial glance, this was an odd pairing; with both outfits performing in different languages altogether. Nonetheless, the night’s outcome resulted in a downright sublimely perfect synth-ridden musical aftermath.

Kicking off the co-headlining duties were the León Larregui-led quintet out of Mexico City, and their flair for the cool. On stage, these South of the Border virtuosos are a mild-mannered tranquil gang that somehow attract walloping and voluminous cheers with such babyish effort. Tricolored flags of Mexico can be seen throughout the rafters, and even during the band’s performance, as the “Labios Rotos” troupe journey along their distinguished discography. Larregui, decked in a colorful native poncho, is easy on the eardrums with his silky baritone — while pleasing on the eyes when enhancing the vibe with his maracas or jamming out on his pitch black Duesenberg guitar.

For their part, lead guitarist Sergio Acosta and bassist Angel Mosqueda work nice and precise to mold those indie-rock tunes to life. Drummer Rodrigo Guardiola may be relegated to the background, but his easy-peasy approach to banging on those barrels is unagitated and a perfect compliment to the melodies of Zoé. Lastly, keyboardist Jesus Baez tickles the ivories in such a smooth fashion that his work is what makes these compositions airy and spacey to the nth degree. Combined to a large array of technicolor strobes and a fanatically wild bunch of fans on hand, Zoé simply blended and mixed all these elements for a delicious 75-minutes of sheer fun.

Metric, unlike Zoé, is a bit more in your face with their rhythm of choice. Closing out the evening, the Emily Haines-quaterbacked quartet out of Toronto featured a powerful array of riffs and some wickedly paramount synths to deliver their melodic fabric. Plainly stated, these sprightly North of the Border musicians are badasses with a capital B.

On the platform, Ms. Haines is not only a dynamo of indie-rock pizzazz and a testament to fitness, but she also performs with a heavy dose of charisma; that paints the Metric crew as very endearing and relatable. Naturally blessed with towering vocals and a bottomless sense of showmanship, Emily Haines is a wonder to witness on the live circuit.

Of course, the Metric brand cannot come to fruition without the assist of its first-rate cast of characters. Rhythm guitarist James Shaw and bassist Joshua Winstead put on a clinic of strings wizardry that utterly ramp-up the oomph of Metric. Naturally, the experience is made whole with drummer Joules Scott-Key‘s knack for hi-hats and tom-toms world-class finesse. All together, Metric forms like Voltron to serve up an otherworldly batch of tunage. Although these Canadian heavy-hitters were in town to promote their seventh full length LP, Art of Doubt, the squad left no ambiguity that they absolutely fucking rock.