★★★★☆
Leslie Feist blends her brand of indie-pop with a touch of folk in her fourth solo album Metals.
The album signals a break with the strictly indie-pop sound that comprised her work with Broken Social Scene and stands up well next to other popular Feist LPs such as The Reminder.
The 12-track album opens with "The Bad in Each Other," one of the standout tracks. It begins with nothing but a thumping drumbeat and progressively includes more sounds. As Feist starts singing, a piano's soft, sweet melody plays over a strummed guitar. Even a tambourine can be heard alongside the cooing of Feist's deep voice.
Feist's music comes across almost like the background music one might expect to hear at a dinner party, her voice blending so well with the other sounds that it is sometimes hard to tell that she is singing at all. On tracks such as "Caught a Long Wind," however, the other instruments take a backseat to Feist's incredibly crisp voice.
About halfway through is "The Circle Married the Line," wherein it is possible to hear the individual strings of the guitar being played as the piano returns as well. As Feist moans about the "circle marrying the line," the song crescendos into a blissful moment that hooks people into listening straight through to the end of the album.
Metals provides an apt cross-section of Feist's sound, even while its own sound is somewhat jumbled, blending indie-pop with folk in varying degrees. From the strongly indie-pop leanings of "How Come You Never Go There" to the very folky sound of "Anti-Pioneer," Feist affirms what she wants to sound like as a solo artist.
The album's closing track, "Get It Wrong, Get It Right," provides Metals with a strong finish. Feist creates a steady beat with the help of piano, guitar and a little drumming, featuring both of her musical genres in unison to take an otherwise fragmented album and put it together for a clear end.