Metric have pulled out of their planned US tour with Bloc Party, alleging the latter’s team “made some sudden production decisions” that broke an agreement between the bands.
The string of dates would have marked the band’s first time touring together since 2006 while both celebrate career milestones. For Bloc Party, this was the 20th anniversary of their seminal debut album ‘Silent Alarm’, while Metric planned to look back at their cult-favourite 2009 album ‘Fantasies’.
The shows were supposed to kick off on May 10, however, Metric announced yesterday (April 11) that they have pulled out of the tour.
They shared the news in an Instagram statement, which said that initially, each group and their respective teams had reached an agreement about collaboration and performance that would make for a special live show.
They then allege that the agreement was disregarded somehow. “Bloc Party’s team made some sudden production decisions that broke the agreement we’d made, which left us unable to continue despite our best efforts to find solutions,” the statement reads.
NME have reached out to representatives for Bloc Party for comment.
Though the bands will no longer be playing together, they’ll each continue with their own shows, though with different support. Metric confirmed that the planned Toronto show on June 6 is still happening without Bloc Party, with Sam Roberts Band joining them to play their 2003 album We ‘Were Born In A Flame’. They also added new dates Ottawa, Quebec City, and Montreal.
Meanwhile, Bloc Party will still carry on with their tour, without the June 6 Toronto date. New support will come from Blonde Redhead, who confirmed the news in an Instagram video.
Fans can access refunds “if desired”, with those who purchased tickets from Ticketmaster or AXS allocated 30 days to request a refund.
Bloc Party’s plan to celebrate ‘Silent Alarm’s 20th anniversary comes after news broke last year that the band would be playing the tracklist in full while at the 2025 edition of Live At Leeds.
They also did the same while at a special anniversary show in London last summer. Held at Crystal Palace Park on July 7, the gig marked their biggest headline show to date – performing to a 25,000-strong crowd for two hours.
Bloc Party’s last release was 2022’s ‘Alpha Games‘. In a three-star review of the album, NME shared: “‘Alpha Games’ sees Bloc Party still championing the ’00s scene that they came up in, but there’s not a hint of nostalgia in sight. With a renewed vigour and the desire to keep things moving, this sixth album could soundtrack a new generation of indie discos.”
In the time since that LP, Gordon Moakes – the former bassist of Bloc Party – formed a new band, The None, and announced their new EP ‘Care’. Frontman Kele Okereke announced a new solo album ‘The Singing Winds Pt. 3’ and shared the lead single ‘It Wasn’t Meant To Be’.
Kele Okereke of Bloc Party performs on the Other Stage during day four of Glastonbury Festival 2024. Credit: (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
As for Metric, back in 2023 the group shared their most recent record, ‘Formentera II’, which contained singles ‘Nothing Is Perfect’, ‘Who Would You Be For Me’ and ‘Just This Once‘.
They also spoke to NME about how the record related to its predecessor ‘Formentera’, with Emily Haines saying: “The 18 songs were all created in the same moment, which was 2020 to 2023. And we found ourselves stepping back in 2022, looking at this body of work and trying to establish the best way to release it.
“It didn’t feel like the right thing to do to release it all at once and it also didn’t feel like much fun to tell everyone that there was another one coming. So we opted for the surprise of announcing it on the one-year anniversary of the first album.”
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