L - let it die, feist (2004)

i've always felt torn as to which is the superior feist album: 'let it die' or 'the reminder'. suffice it to say i adore them both, for quite different reasons.

this album has moments of pure gold, and one of the things i love about it is that it practises what it preaches. one of the standout tracks for me is the delicately jaunty french cover 'tout doucement' - a song about living life slowly and gently. take the almost lazy prettiness of the lyrics: "n'allez jamais trop vite / en aimant simplement / pour avoir de la reussite / soyez tres tres prudent / l'amour alors viendra / se blottir dans vos bras" (which sort of means never go too fast, love simply, to be successful be careful, then love will come and snuggle up in your arms... english is a bit clumsy, but it's a lovely image). i know it's a cover so feist can't take credit for the lyrics, but she does a lovely rendition of the song and was responsible for introducing me to it, so there.

the whole album has a delightful feeling of restrained gentleness about it, and i love it for that. the opener 'gatekeeper' is a pretty cataloguing of the passing of the seasons, and 'mushaboom' is an excellent upbeat song about home that invokes both a feeling of nostalgia and hope ("we'll collect the moments one by one / i guess that's how the future's done"). the title track is a perfectly written love song that balances - but never crosses - that delicate line between meaning and cheese. i can live without the loungey-ness of 'leisure suite', and have to be in the right mood to love the final track, 'now at last'. beyond 'tout doucement' if i only had time for one track on this album, it'd be 'secret heart' - like so much of feist's work, the lyrics of this song are completely genuine, relateable, and beautifully constructed.

feist is one of my all time favourites. apart from her stuning voice, she is frankly a lyrical genius. she writes clever, pretty songs that above everything else are real. this album is superb and i recommend it to everyone, ever.