| It's been four years since Leslie Feist broke through with her fourth solo album The Reminder, which scored four Grammy nominations, and her hit single, "1234," which helped sell boatloads of iPod Nanos, thanks to that ubiquitous Apple commercial. She's remained relatively low-key after wrapping up a grueling world tour in 2008, but the Canadian singer-songwriter will end her break this fall with a new record Metals, due out October 4. For the album, Feist joined longtime collaborators Chilly Gonzalez and Mocky and worked up a dozen songs in Toronto. Then they headed down to Big Sur, on California's central coast, to complete the record with percussionist Dean Stone, keyboardist Brian LeBarton, and Valgeir Siggurdsson, who's produced albums by Björk and Kate Nash. The result — produced by Feist, Gonzalez, Mocky, and Siggurdsson — is a gorgeous collection of overtly poppy tunes, cinematic art-rock, and strummy ballads. It's probably too early to say if Metals will yield a crossover phenomenon like "1234," but the songs are definite growers. SPIN got a first listen to the album and here are some of the highlights. Anti-Pioneer This torchy ballad starts with pleading, moaning guitar riffs and touches of harmonica, before gliding into a multi-tracked chorus with sumptuous harmonies. There's a hair-raising turn toward the end, as strings swell, recalling the heartbreak drama of Beck's 2002 album Sea Change. (The influence would make sense: the two collaborated in 2009 on a ... |
