Metalsby Feist (Polydor, 3rd October)
Leslie Feist hit the big time in 2007 when her gospel-infused song “1,2,3,4” appeared on an advert for the iPod nano. (It was later adapted for a delightful Sesame Streetappearance in which she taught the characters to count.) The Nova Scotia-born baroque pop singer was smart to let her music be used on lucrative TV and film soundtracks—it helped her float a career that remains wilfully independent.
Metals is Feist’s darkest record yet, a subtle work that gets better with every listen. Filled with hand-claps, shuffling beats and tambourines, the atmosphere is strangely antique. There are turbulent tales of relationship breakdown in “The Bad In Each Other” and “Comfort Me” (“when you comfort me, it doesn’t bring me comfort actually”), full of rich guitars and her signature multi-tracked choruses. Feist’s easy delivery conceals the complexity of her songs, most notably “The Circle Married The Line” where layers of voices build on one another.
There may not be a track here to advertise the iPad 3 but there is an innate understanding of the magical, golden combinations that make up a good tune. Feist says the album was inspired by an article she read in National Geographic on the importance of soil regeneration. With that in mind, Metals is her tough new crop.
Leslie Feist hit the big time in 2007 when her gospel-infused song “1,2,3,4” appeared on an advert for the iPod nano. (It was later adapted for a delightful Sesame Streetappearance in which she taught the characters to count.) The Nova Scotia-born baroque pop singer was smart to let her music be used on lucrative TV and film soundtracks—it helped her float a career that remains wilfully independent.
Metals is Feist’s darkest record yet, a subtle work that gets better with every listen. Filled with hand-claps, shuffling beats and tambourines, the atmosphere is strangely antique. There are turbulent tales of relationship breakdown in “The Bad In Each Other” and “Comfort Me” (“when you comfort me, it doesn’t bring me comfort actually”), full of rich guitars and her signature multi-tracked choruses. Feist’s easy delivery conceals the complexity of her songs, most notably “The Circle Married The Line” where layers of voices build on one another.
There may not be a track here to advertise the iPad 3 but there is an innate understanding of the magical, golden combinations that make up a good tune. Feist says the album was inspired by an article she read in National Geographic on the importance of soil regeneration. With that in mind, Metals is her tough new crop.
