Feist - The Reminder

The Reminder has been my formal introduction to Leslie Feist, and I have to say I am very pleased to meet her. I’d heard the name Feist here and there, on Pitchfork and what not, but I’d never actually listened to her or was interested in her music for that matter. That is, until I learned of her connection to another one of my favorite bands, Broken Social Scene. So, while rummaging though a record store in Greenwich Village for the new Joanna Newsom E.P., I came across her latest and figured, why not?

Impressions:
If there is one word I could use to describe Feist’s voice, it is familiar. But, it’s not in a “familiar” way, if you take my meaning. It’s like visiting a long lost relative and finding pictures of your grandparents or family friends. At any rate, as she flows from the moody and [obviously] apologetic “So Sorry,” to the neurotic “Sea Lion Woman,” through the almost alt-country “Past in Present” there’s just something comfortable and, well, savory about how she brings together different genres as well as different vocal and instrumental influences onto one record. This shows off Feist’s talents the most in my opinion. This record could have easily been a failure. Each song stands on it’s own, and could have been the “hit” on an album of similar, but mediocre tracks. But Feist has taken songs that are seemingly disjointed and unrelated musically and successfully weaved them into one musical tapestry.