Feist - Metals

Thu 22nd Sep, 2011 in Music Reviews

Indie folk goddess. Broken Social Scene alumnus. Voice of the iPod Nano. The subtle enigma that is Leslie Feist breezes back onto the music scene with Metals, her fourth studio album. The follow up to universally acclaimed The Reminder has some pretty big shoes to fill, but Metals is more than up to the occasion, as it looks to pastures unfamiliar to that of its predecessors, towards a more mature and darkly mellow scope.

The banging drums of The Bad In Each Other leads into the powerfully struck opening line of “speak plain, he said” before the collection of sweeping strings, and bobbling horns welcome Metals in symphonic fashion. Graveyard’s forlorn acoustic strum, bluesy rhythm and clashing percussion are complimented by the contrasting vocals of Feist, as the superb hook “bring them all back to life” sweetly and delicately creeps into your ear as the song builds momentum towards it’s enthralling finale.

Caught In The Wind is a much more stripped back affair, and an excellent analogy for itself, as this quiet beauty floats majestically. Feist’s intentional lack of sound is a masterstroke; the fuzzy white noise of just her in an otherwise empty studio can be felt for the majority of this song, silence has never sounded so good. The sounds that are actually being made are gorgeous, her voice; sweet and sincere, and the instrumental breakdown mid-song; an oriental inspired collection of keys and strings, transcends tranquillity.

Lead single How Come You Never Go There has a bit more going on sonically. Feist flicks from whisper to falsetto at will, her ‘woah woah woah’s’ sexually swagger in the background, engulfed by café-blues keys, and a pleasantly melodic guitar solo. Easily the most accessible on the album, but by no means a highlight. That’s not a slight against it; it’s just the quality that surrounds it, as well as the body of work on the whole, is something that overshadows an individual fraction.

The twinkly The Circle Married the Line continues the meticulous approach from the Canadian folkster, with each instrument crafted to compliment her pirouetting vocals. Some well-placed male backing vocals also add a nice gloss to the track. The album approaches its buoyant best when it reaches Bittersweet Melodies. Using melodies fit for background music during a Disney montage, Feist is at her simplistic best during this ominously chipper track that best signifies the brave face the album is putting on, concealing its somewhat heavy heart.

Anti-Pioneer is another ambient lullaby, in which Feist’s dulcet tones whisper into your ears as though she were standing next to you, whilst Undiscovered First brings in heavier (for Feist) guitar rhythms, and more exerted vocals than we are used to seeing her perform, which she pushes in its crash climax. Cicadas and Gulls is a bubbly acoustic number, stripped back to just Feist and a guitar, the layered, harmonized vocals makes this yet another glistening gem in an album that’s turned out to be the musical equivalent of a jewellery box.

The album closes on the moving Get It Wrong, Get It Right in a fitting finale to Metals. This sparkling track showcases the best of her talents, as her smokey voice hushes plainspoken lyrics against some starry percussion. Metals may be Feist’s finest effort to date, her honest lyrics and meticulous attention to perfecting songs has payed dividends for the Canadian songstress, and certainly deserves the acclaim (or more than) of her previous endeavours.

Metals will be released on Friday 7th October through Universal Music