The Reminder livelier
Published April 27, 2007
At this point, expect almost anything from Leslie Feist.
Before her solo career, the Canadian-born songstress began performing with a high-school punk band that opened for The Ramones. She later joined trashy, electro queen Peaches under the name Bitch Lap Lap and ultimately settled into the Toronto indie scene with Broken Social Scene.
With so much experience under her belt, it's hard to not make comparisons to her previous work, but Feist has finally settled into her own skin on The Reminder.
Where 2005's Let It Die was primarily low-key, borderline elevator music, The Reminder, Feist's third solo effort, could be the soundtrack to a Broadway show. The production is huge even when the volume remains quiet. The first two videos off the record ("1234" and "My Moon My Man") are mini-Grease productions themselves with Feist dancing among dozens of color-coordinated extras or along an airport moving sidewalk.
"The Park" and "The Water" are both as tranquil as anything found on Let It Die, but production is the difference. Chirping birds are audible in the former track while Feist tenderly belts out some of her best melodies with a straightforward guitar accompaniment.
Feist's voice, somewhere between a whisper and an indie-rock goddess' croon, perfectly lends itself to The Reminder. Throughout "My Moon My Man," her soft, half-whispered voice is intoned with a desperation that makes skin crawl while a throbbing piano bounds along at its own pace.
Let It Die, was a largely collaborative effort. Feist worked closely with her producer Jason Charles Beck (aka Gonzales) to rework six cover songs and build her own pieces for the sophomore album.
The Reminder takes things further as Feist finally masters her art. "Sea Lion Woman," a traditional song and the only cover on the album, features the rhythmic clapping and background chanting of any good soulful R&B tune. "Honey Honey" and the tender duet "How My Heart Behaves" are both masterful compositions with minute additions, such as harps and subterranean production, which complete the songs perfectly.
To balance these more somber moments, Feist includes songs such as "1234," one of the many songs that examine love. As a Randy Newman-type piano melody, twinkling banjo and marching horns all make appearances on the cheerful, up-beat song.
There is just something about female singer/songwriters these days. From Regina Spektor to Fiona Apple to Feist's own Canadian partner-in-crime and Metric frontwoman Emily Haines, these ladies' music has struck with gusto. The Reminder illustrates Feist's capacity as an original songwriter along with sonically capturing a visual spectacle with Feist's evocative vocals and fantastic arrangements — both simple and complex.