Years from now we\u2019ll look back and study the musical collective known as the Mac mob, the artists who share an affinity of finding commercial success after a song of theirs was used to promote an Apple product. Who knows what we\u2019ll say about Chairlift, or The Fratellis, CSS and The Ting Tings \u2014 maybe in 20 years they\u2019ll be feted like the Native Tongue Posse.<\/p>\n
Or maybe the bands\u2019 30 seconds of fame is already up.<\/p>\n
Leslie Feist is somewhere in the mix, as Apple\u2019s use of \u201c1234\u201d opened the world up for the Canadian singer. But the light, breezy feel of \u201c1234\u201d doesn\u2019t capture Feist\u2019s true musical prowess \u2013 she\u2019s bent toward folk, tradition and introspection. A typical Feist song is more apt selling antique model trains than portable screens used to access porn sites (for the articles, of course).<\/p>\n
On Metals, Feist discards easy pop sensibilities for a stern, more aggressive sound, one wrapped in splendid strings, surging choruses and stark guitars \u2014 all while using that voice of hers to tie it into a tight bundle.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow Come You Never Go There\u201d is an odd choice for the lead single, featuring off-tempo time signatures and tottering vocals, which at times leave the music working to catch up. But what makes it listenable is how varied it becomes while remaining cohesive \u2014 it\u2019s a three and a half minute trip where you see plenty of Feist\u2019s world.<\/p>\n
Within this realm are songs of pure folk (\u201cGraveyard\u201d, \u201cCicadas & Gulls\u201d), jazz (\u201cThe Circle Married the Line\u201d) and pop (\u201cBittersweet Melodies\u201d). The latter is Feist\u2019s attempt at being catchy, a la \u201c1234,\u201d but I suspect it wasn\u2019t on purpose. It\u2019s in this subtle shifting of genres where Metals becomes slightly worn, as if running away from a commercial pop persona has Feist looking to become undefinable. I understand not wanting to be pigeonholed, but there\u2019s no sense trying to be everything for everyone.<\/p>\n
If she needs a singular focus, \u201cAnti-Pioneer\u201d is a good place to look. Haunting and lovely, the song is a Feist feast \u2013 it doesn\u2019t rush, taking its time with persistent treble taps and quiet piano, letting Leslie\u2019s voice take the lead.<\/p>\n
Metals is the album to play when there\u2019s time to linger, blissful in its shunning of the world\u2019s constant-moving cycle. But even in repose, the album isn\u2019t meant to soothe. \u201cWhen you comfort me\/ It doesn\u2019t bring me comfort actually\u201d she sings, a stinging rebuke in quiet tones, one surely not bound for 30-second Apple bites.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Years from now we\u2019ll look back and study the musical collective known as the Mac mob, the artists who share an affinity of finding commercial success after a song of theirs was used to promote an Apple product. Who knows what we\u2019ll say about Chairlift, or The Fratellis, CSS and The Ting Tings \u2014 maybe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1527,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[486],"class_list":["post-1526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-feist"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1526"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1528,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1526\/revisions\/1528"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}