Feist - Let it Die

My second experience of Leslie Feist's work after 'The Reminder', and it's predecessor 'Let it Die' is none too shabby either. For the uninitiated the majority of Feist's output could be described as dour, singer-songwriter folk music. It's lovely but even the Canadian twang doesn't pull it out of the folky quagmire. That is until you hear 'Let it Die'.

What I certainly wasn't expecting was any genre blurring action from Broken Social Scene's most entertaining member, and definitely not any eighties style r'n'b crossover appeal. But somehow Feist manages to pull it off. The tracks fall into three categories; dour folk, jaunty French and weird eighties r'n'b hybrid. It's the latter that is most entertaining with 'Leisure Suite' sounding like Sade, 'L'Amour ne Dure pas Toujours' starting out like Snoop Doggy Dog before going off on a French tangent, and 'Inside Out' is like some odd three way mash up of Laura Marling, Michael Jackson and Erykah Badu! And it still manages to be the best track on the album, which is amazing considering it's a Bee Gees cover.

The pick of the standard folk songs is the minimal but spiritual 'Gatekeeper' and for you lovers of French language vocals; 'Tout Doucement' is less fun but at least accessible. All in all it's a strangely engaging mix of styles, languages and attitudes. If you ever wondered what Sade would have sounded like in a pair of dungarees, down the Dog and Duck after a couple of pints of home brew cider, then look no further; this is the album for you.