Phases & Stages

Feist

The Reminder (CherryTree/Interscope)

Whether Leslie Feist is the chanteuse who will someday make crooning cool again remains to be seen. Her follow-up to 2005's chunk of Canadian goodness, Let It Die, is neither miserable nor memorable. It does, however, succeed in mixing soft rock, indie rock, jazz, and soul. With mind-stickers like the repetitive "I Feel It All," the Spoon-full of Goldfrapp "My Moon My Man," and addictively bouncy nugget "1234," The Reminder is simply that: a multi-instrumentalization wherein the northern waif swims around in the smoky, candlelit corners of your mind until her next blip of pop genius (e.g., "Mushaboom") breaks through – or possibly off – her major label debut. Anyone who hits Hall & Oates smooth like "The Limit to Your Love" is good in our book. Let The Reminder remain an open chapter in Feist's breathy, inconspicuous, winter-loving tome.