Raw, melancholic and powerful in its unsettled grace, Metals proves that an 18-month break was exactly what Leslie Feist needed to rediscover her musical direction. Having risen through the ranks of pop favour and earned a wide-ranging fan base with the release of her previous album The Reminder which waspeppered with immediately accessible and beautiful singles like 1,2,3,4, Feist felt she was in need of secondment from the world in order to produce the follow-up.
Though she hasn't abandoned the notion of pop, Metals embraces some odd time signatures, adventurous and less polished production, and (for want of a better word) a more feisty attitude.
It's attention-demanding, opening with the quietly exasperated The Bad In Each Other, pairing stomping and handclapping with warm horn arrangements and with rolling guitar riffs underpinning the vocals. The songs range through pared-back alt-folk and blues (Graveyard and Comfort Me), heart-breaking gentle ballads (Undiscovered First) orchestral rock (A Commotion) and charming indie pop with some stunning woodwind arrangements (as on the sadly whimsical The Circle Married The Line).
References to broken relationships recur, bittersweet nostalgia and frustrations flow through the tracks and the lyrical dichotomy between hope and disappointment is echoed in the music, driving forward and upward at times but then ebbing out again. Her voice shines in a downcast way, drawing just the right amount of emotion from the lyrics, never overwrought or melodramatic but potent nonetheless.
Stars: 5/5 Verdict: Potently bittersweet turn from Canadian pop chanteuse.
