I Feel It All

Let me tell ya, life and work have been putting a serious damper on this blogging business. Here's hoping the near future allows us more time to write about new music -- or, for that matter, just to listen to some new music.

But The National rocked Atlanta hard last night -- guys, if you actually look us up, thanks again for the guestlist privileges -- and now I'm looking forward to Feist's visit to our town tomorrow night. If you don't already have her new record, The Reminder, you're missing out on another of the strongest releases thus far in '07. Here are three tunes and an interview with the lovely Miss Leslie, from her recent AOL Spinner session:

How Her Heart Behaves

When I reviewed her latest record back in February, I mentioned that I wish Norah Jones, with all that talent and allure at her command, would take more risks and attempt some edgier, more interesting material. But I guess it's okay to let Norah be Norah, as long as Leslie Feist is around.

On her spectacular new record, The Reminder, Feist (as she prefers to be known) easily outshines her more famous, multi-platinum contemporary as a purveyor of delicate, jazz-inflected pop. But while Norah's music has a certain, stately sameness to it, Feist flits -- and not just comfortably but commandingly -- from her own brand of dusky, late-night swing ("So Sorry" and "The Water"), to rambunctious indie rock ("I Feel It All"), to quiet Americana ("The Park"), to traditional, orchestrated pop ("My Moon My Man" and "1234") and soul ("The Limit To Your Love") without ever breaking a sweat. In lesser hands, such audacious genre-hopping could come across as gimmicky. But Feist either wrote or co-wrote every track on this record, so the overall impression here is of a supremely gifted artist at a creative peak, stretching her wings and reveling in the many types of music she and her talented friends are capable of producing together. (The record winds down with "Brandy Alexander," co-written with the incomparable Ron Sexsmith, and "How My Heart Behaves," a lovely duet with Eirik Glambek Boe of Kings of Convenience.)

In the end, though, what The Reminder showcases most plainly is that Leslie Feist has quietly developed one of the most gorgeous singing voices in modern pop music, recalling both Cat Power and, at moments, early 70s Joni Mitchell (two comparisons I do not throw around casually), but capable of summoning more power and stylistic range than either of those greats. It's a thrilling instrument to behold, plain and simple, and there seems to be nothing she can't tackle with it. That extraordinary quality, not to mention the 13 impeccably crafted and beautifully performed songs here, make this another early candidate for record of the year.

MP3: Feist - "I Feel It All" from The Reminder

Odds and Sods

GoldenFiddle has the first look at Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan (the circa '66 edition) in the forthcoming Todd Haynes biopic, I'm Not There (which, from the look of things, will be either terrific or a complete disaster).






The Traneumentary is a weekly podcast celebrating the unparalleled artistry and influence of John Coltrane, featuring interviews with such friends and admirers as McCoy Tyner, Terence Blanchard, Jimmy Cobb and (coming up) Sonny Rollins. It's 15 weeks in, with only 3 more to go, but all of the episodes are archived at the site and well worth a listen. ('Trane fans, stay tuned to our Classic Bootleg Series. I'm just sayin'.)


The reunited Crowded House will release a new record, Time On Earth, on July 2. The record was produced by Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Kings Of Leon, Ray LaMontagne) and Steve Lillywhite (U2, XTC, Morrissey). Guitar god Johnny Marr features on two tracks, including lead-off single "Don’t Stop Now," which will be available on iTunes on June 25. The record will also include Crowded House's take on the gorgeous "Silent House," which CH main man Neil Finn co-wrote with the Dixie Chicks. The Chicks' version of that song was among the highlights of their splendid Taking The Long Way album last year. Here, see for yourself:

MP3: Dixie Chicks - "Silent House" from Taking The Long Way


And music critic Sasha Frere-Jones, who's been on a tear lately, profiles indie it-girl Feist in The New Yorker, calling her new record, The Reminder (out next week), "radiant" and "luminous".