Canadian singer songwriter Leslie Feist is the perfect example of a musicians who find success as she digs deeper in her personal feelings, while showcasing her huge talent. As part of Noah’s Arkweld, By Divine Rights and mostly Broken Social Scene, in the late 90s, she was just one of the gang. But as soon as she went solo, with the “Let it Die” album in 2004, listeners related to her songs and never let her go. After the beautifully crafted “The Reminder” which consolidated her presence in the indie rock scene in 2007 (which earned her 4 Grammy nominations and made her won 5 major Juno Awards), Feist came back in September 2011 with “Metals”, a title that illustrates the cold ambiances of most of her new songs. This new album featured pure gems like Caught A Long Wind, one of the most beautiful songs of the decade. Muffed piano (by longtime friend and producer Gonzales), light guitar notes, string quartet are there, classy, to showcase Feist’s beautiful and fragile voice. A performance pretty close to David Bowie’s brilliant reprise of Wild Is The Wind. Yeah, that good. There aren’t any pop songs on “Metals”. No 1-2-3-4, no Mushabooms. Only beautiful and soft songs on which Feist shines in a unique cold fashion. Even brass don’t get to warm songs like How Come You Never Go There on which many voice tracks are mixed to create a hypnotic state. Powerful and punchier songs like A Commotion draw the way to artists like Florence + the Machine and St. Vincent. “Metals” was recorded with collaborators including Chilly Gonzales, Mocky, Brian LeBarton, Dean Stone, and producer Valgeir Sigurðsson. It debuted at #7 on the Billboard charts upon its release and was ranked #1 album of the whole 2011 year by both New York Times and Globe and Mail. “Metals” eventually won the prestigious Polaris Music Prize for best Canadian album of the year. “Metals” is the type of album that you don’t fully appreciate on the first 3 or 4 listening sessions. It takes time and the right mood to really dig the beauty of these songs. The ones that seem common the first few times may release their magic only on the 10th time you hear them, maybe as you’re listening to it in another context or suddenly pay attention to lyrics, or details in the arrangements. A very rich album, in melodies, music, charisma. FEIST Metals (Arts & Crafts, 2011) -Genre: indie pop -In the same genre as St. Vincent, Florence + the Machine, Salomé Leclerc Follow the artist via her Facebook page Listen to videos on the artist’s YouTube channel Read a review of this album in French here. Réagissez à cet article / Comment this article commentaires / comments
