Song · Metric
“Breathing Underwater” by Metric
From the album Synthetica (2012)
“Breathing Underwater” by Metric appears on 15 radio countdowns from 11 stations between 2012 and 2025. It was first released in 2012 on the album Synthetica. Its best result is #21 on The Current Top 89 Songs of 2012. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #55 alternative song of 2012, #6,762 alternative song of all time and #441 of the '10s.
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"Breathing Underwater" comes from Synthetica, Metric's 2012 album, and it was written by Emily Haines and James Shaw. Shaw produced it too, with Gavin Brown, John O'Mahony and Liam O'Neil as co-producers; O'Mahony handled the mix, while O'Neil and Lenny DeRose engineered. It's glossy synth-rock with a melancholy streak, the kind of slow-building song that seems designed to lift off when the chorus arrives. Rock radio didn't let go of it when the album cycle ended, either: countdown voters were still pulling it back more than a decade later.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 69 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 2012 | 91 |
| 2012 | 62 | CD101 Columbus, OH | CD101 Top 102.5 Songs of 2012 | 103 |
| 2012 | 41 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON | 102.1 The Edge Top 50 New Rock Songs of 2012 | 50 |
| 2012 | 42 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2012 | 103 |
| 2012 | 50 | 99 Rock Lebanon-Hanover-White River Junction, NH-VT | 99Rock WFRD Top 99 of 2012 | 99 |
| 2012 | 21 | The Current Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | The Current Top 89 Songs of 2012 | 89 |
| 2012 | 46 | ALT 104.5 Philadelphia, PA | Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2012 | 51 |
| 2012 | 29 | 96.5 The Buzz Kansas City, MO-KS | 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 Songs of 2012 | 96 |
| 2013 | 64 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 2013 | 91 |
| 2013 | 45 | 94.3 WCYY Portland, ME | WCYY Year End Top 50 of 2013 | 50 |
| 2013 | 80 | 97X Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL | 97X Top 97 of 2013 | 97 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 1702 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
| 2018 | 793 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs | 892 |
| 2025 | 471 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
| 2025 | 180 | The Current | 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now | 893 |
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