Romanticize the Dive is the tenth studio album by Toronto indie rock band Metric — vocalist Emily Haines, guitarist James Shaw, bassist Joshua Winstead, and drummer Joules Scott-Key — released on April 24, 2026 via Metric Music International and Thirty Tigers. The album marks a deliberate homecoming: conceived in the wake of a tour on which the band performed their 2009 breakthrough Fantasies in full, it reunites them with producer Gavin Brown, who helmed both Fantasies and 2012's Synthetica, and was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York — the same facility where Fantasies was made. Thematically, the 11-track, 43-minute record reflects on Metric's quarter-century together, arriving 25 years after the Toronto band recorded their first album, with Haines describing the project as being about "the romance of a less than perfect life" and "dropping the mask of self-consciousness and vanity."Sonically, the album leans into the synth-driven indie rock foundation that made Fantasies a touchstone, while threading in new textures. Singles "Crush Forever" draws on strobe-lit New Order-isms, while "Loyal" channels LCD Soundsystem-like stutter-funk, and opener "Victim of Luck" sets the tone with Haines nostalgically inviting the listener to "let me take you back, it was the start of something." Rough Trade describes the record as "a heartfelt reflection on their history, a celebratory gift to those who have been along for the ride, and an outstretched hand to new fans." The album charted at #30 on the US Top Album Sales chart and #3 on the UK Independent Albums chart, with a Metacritic score of 75 indicating generally favorable reviews. DIY's Joe Goggins described it as sonically "leaning into the fundamentals," while Under the Radar called it "a reaffirmation of the band's most popular work."
