Feist: Metals

Label: Interscope

This one's for the fans. And Leslie Feist can afford that—she can afford to make a gorgeous, sumptuous pop album that nevertheless makes no gesture at all in the direction of the marketplace. There is no "single" as such on Metals, but starting at the beginning with the the dramatic, wary "The Bad in Each Other," just about every song makes its own individual case for being appreciated as something as strong as a single. "Graveyard," with its killer chorus (and a vocal hook that suggests Feist knows Lia Ices's work?); "How Come You Never Go There," with the contrasting sweetness of her pleading voice and the burnt veneer of the spare guitar line; the taut rhythm of the urgent "A Commotion"; the reassuring clatter and warmth of the closer, "Get It Wrong Get It Right." In referring to "single" above, of course I meant as in like "1234," the iPod-commercial tune that catapulted Feist to global stardom. Now that she has her fans' attention, though, all she needs to do is keep on being herself.