It’s been five years since Feist last enchanted us with her ethereal vocals and ever changing range of style. During this lengthy hiatus Leslie Heist has teased us through collaborating with such acts as Broken Social Scene. Her contribution to You Forgot It in People's “Almost Crimes” left us wishing and hoping that Feist would try it on her own again.
”Let it Die” rewards our patient waiting. Immeadiately we are satisfied with the albums first track “Gatekeeper”; which sets the tone for the divergent path the record takes from her earlier work. “Let It Die” seems in fact to be a vastly deceiving title, as the album evokes a thriving, summer aesthetic, brimming with new promise as opposed to the melancholy loss the title would imply. Gone are the sparse indie rock acoustics, replaced by lively French flavored jazz and folk. “Gatekeeper” is the true gem of the record, Bossa Nova guitar work offsets Feist’s, delicate vocals. The following track “Mushaboon” follows the same vein, clinging to jazzy spring like tones.
The album itself intones a sort of part one and part two or side A and side B; as the first five tracks are original compositions by Feist, and the last six are covers. The first five tracks all follow roughly the same path, light summery pieces pulled together with Feist’s child like vocals. But the album quickly falls into a series of covers, ranging from the BeeGee’s “Inside and Out” to Sexsmith’s “Secret Heart.” While Feist excels at these covers, they still sound like covers and not like the organically created works preceding them. While Feist sizzles and sparks on “Inside and Out” her range doesn’t seem quite capable of it, and the higher notes aren’t hit completely on mark.
Overall though Feist proves to be well on her way to the right direction. She more than proves her ability to take on nearly any musical genre and deliver it well. While I would like to see her focus more on her own material and sound, “Let it Die” is a tasty musical sampler, giving the listener a little bit of everything. |