•
Rating:
A nice deception.
The first notes of this album made me think I was about to listen to the usual singer-songwriter who treads paths already crossed thousands of times by many musicians before her. A nice clear voice, delicate and thin, a sweet and catchy melody, sparse arrangements, an acoustic guitar, gentle rhythm, slightly dirty recording for effect. Nice, yes really nice, but already heard. Clichés overused to the point of parody, I think to myself. While I imagine a monotonous and banal listen, a film I’ve seen before, I am promptly disproven song after song. Already by the second track, the atmospheres that open the album move away. The initial bittersweetness becomes lightness, and more refined arrangements can be heard. Feist gradually reveals her hand, consisting of a stylistic sophistication painted in many different colors, in a collage that appears to have an element of randomness. The first impression, therefore, is a half-deception, because the characteristic of "Let it die" is precisely the variety, which is developed with a sincere and altogether pleasant lightness. Indeed, in eleven songs, six of which are covers, this Canadian singer manages to span from folk to soul to French chanson, even up to the disco music of the ‘70s.
The album probably reflects the multifaceted personality of the singer, who in her brief artistic history has already collected an impressive series of seemingly incoherent collaborations. She began her career opening for the Ramones, was the vocalist for Broken Social Scene and Placebo, duetted first with Kings of Convenience, then with Jane Birkin, and boasts collaborations with Peaches and By Divine Right. In short, Leslie Feist gives the idea of being a chameleon of pop music. Yet, in all this disjointedness, the album finds a common thread in the voice of this singer who accompanies us smoothly from start to finish. It’s a nice album, at times intriguing, with some gems, but I think Feist can do better. I have a feeling she might become a nice surprise. To follow with attention.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Gatekeeper (02:16)
Well it's time to begin as the summer sets in
It's the scene
You set for new lovers
You play your part painting in a new start
But each gate will open another
June, July and August said
"It's probably hard to plan ahead"
June, July and August said
"It's better to bask in each other"
Gatekeeper seasons wait for your nod
Gatekeeper you held your breath
Made the summer go on and on
Well they tried to stay in from the cold and wind
Making love and making their dinner
Only to find that the love that they grew in the summer
Froze
February, April said
"Don't be fooled by that summer again"
February, April said
"Well that half of the year, well we'll never be friends"
Gatekeeper seasons wait for your nod
Gatekeeper you held your breath
Made the winter go on and on
Gatekeeper, Gatekeeper, Gatekeeper
Seasons wait for your nod
02 Mushaboom (03:44)
Helping the kids out of their coats
But wait the babies haven't been born oh oh oh
Unpacking the bags and setting up
And planting lilacs and buttercups oh oh oh
But in the meantime I've got it hard
Second floor living without a yard
It may be years until the day
My dreams will match up with my pay
Old dirt road (mushaboom mushaboom)
Knee deep snow (mushaboom mushaboom)
Watching the fire as we grow (mushaboom mushaboom)
Old
I got man to stick it out
And make a home from a rented house oh oh oh
And we'll collect the moments one by one
I guess that's how the future's done oh oh oh
How many acres how much light
Tucked in the woods and out of sight
Talk to the neighbours and tip my cap
On a little road barely on the map
Old dirt road (mushaboom mushaboom)
Knee deep snow (mushaboom mushaboom)
Watching the fire as we grow (mushaboom mushaboom)
Old (mushaboom mushaboom)
Old dirt road
Rambling rose (mushaboom mushaboom)
Watching the fire as we grow (mushaboom mushaboom)
Well I'm sold ...
Oh oh oh oh oh oh ...
Oh oh oh oh oh oh ...
03 Let It Die (02:55)
Let it die and get out of my mind
We don't see eye to eye
Or hear ear to ear
Don't you wish that we could forget that kiss ?
And see this for what it is
That we're not in love
The saddest part of a broken heart
Isn't the ending so much as the start
It was hard to tell just how I felt
To not recognize myself
I started to fade away
And after all it won't take long to fall in love
Now I know what I don't want
I learned that with you
The saddest part of a broken heart
Isn't the ending so much as the start
The tragedy starts from the very first spark
Losing your mind for the sake of your heart
The saddest part of a broken heart
Isn't the ending so much as the start
04 One Evening (03:36)
The evening is long,
my kisses were true,
it's obviously you.
That something you said,
the timing was right,
the pleasure was mine.
The time and the place,
the look on your face,
sincerest of eyes.
If you're ready or not,
the state of the hearts,
there's no time to take.
Where we started,
both broken-hearted.
Not believing,
It could begin and end in one evening.
pa-pa-pa-pa
pa-pa-pa
pa-pa-pa
pa-pa-pa-pa
pa-pa-pa
pa-pa-pa
We woke up out of light,
held on to the day,
then it became ours.
The minutes went by,
the cab is outside,
there's no time to take.
Where we parted,
moving on.
And believing,
it could begin and end in one evening.
Where we started,
both broken-hearted.
Not believing,
it could begin and end in one evening.
Where we parted,
moving on.
And believing,
it could begin and end in one evening.
pa-pa-pa-pa
pa-pa-pa
pa-pa-pa
pa-pa-pa-pa
pa-pa-pa
pa-pa-pa
05 Leisure Suite (04:07)
(In my leisure suite)
Quit talking
Just talking
Please
(In my leisure suite)
Sometimes
I feel the room surround me
With possibility
Build fires to stoke them
Let’s fix what’s been broken
Words have been stolen
But silence is golden
(In my leisure suite)
Just a place to meet
We can press repeat
And do what we do when we’re there
Don’t come knocking
This doors for locking
Have you got the key
( In my leisure suite)
Hang up your jacket
Undo my back zip
Please
Moonlight on blanket
It’s great when your backlit
Features in close-up
The moment we woke up
(In my leisure suite)
Just a place to meet
We can press repeat
And do what we do when we’re there
(In our leisure suite)
Come lie next to me
We can be complete
And do what we do when we’re there
07 When I Was a Young Girl (03:08)
When I was a young girl I used to seek pleasure
When I was a young girl I used to drink ale
Out of the ale house down into the jail house
My body's salvation and Hell is my doom
Come mama come papa and sit you down by me
Come sit you down by me and pity my case
My poor head is aching my sad heart in breaking
My body's salvation and hell is my doom
Please send for the preacher to come and pray for me
And send for the doctor to heal all my wounds
My poor head is aching my sad heart in breaking
My body's salvation and I'm bound to die
One morning one morning one morning in May
I saw this young lady all wrapped in white linen
All wrapped in white linen and called out "the plague"
08 Secret Heart (03:49)
Secret heart
What are you made of
What are you so afraid of
Could it be
Three simple words
Or the fear of being overheard
What's wrong
Let him in on your secret heart
Secret heart
Why so mysterious
Why so sacred
Why so serious
Maybe you're
Just acting tough
Maybe you're just not man enough
What's wrong
Let him in on your secret heart
This very secret
That you're trying to conceal
Is the very same one
That you're dying to reveal
Go tell him how you feel
Secret heart come out and share it
This loneliness, few can bear it
Could it have something to do with
Admitting that you just can't go through it alone
Let him in on your secret heart
This very secret
That you're trying to conceal
Is the very same one
That you're dying to reveal
Go tell him how you feel
This very secret heart
Go out and share it
This very secret heart
09 Inside and Out (04:17)
Baby, I can't figure it out
Your kisses taste like honey
Sweet lies don't gimme no rise
Oh, what you're trying to do
Livin' on your cheatin'
and the pain grows inside me
It's enough to leave me crying in the rain
Love you forever but you're driving me insane
And I'm hanging on
Oh, oh, oh, oh
I'll win, I'll never give in
Our love has got the power
Too many lovers in one lifetime
Ain't good for you
You treat me like a vision in the night
Someone there to stand behind you
When your world ain't working right
I ain't no vision, I'm the girl
who loves you inside and out
Backwards and forwards with my heart hanging out
I love no other way
What are we gonna do if we lose that fire
Wrap myself up and take me home again
Too many heartaches in my lifetime ain't good for me
I figure it's the love that keeps you warm
Let this moment be forever
We won't ever feel the storm
I ain't no vision, I'm the girl
Who loves you inside and out
Backwards and forwards with my heart hanging out
I love no other way
What are we gonna do if we lose that fire
Don't try to tell me that it's over
I can't hear a word I can't hear a line
No girl could love you more
And that's what I'm cryin' for
You can't change the way I feel inside
You're the reason for my laughter and my sorrow
Blow out the candle I will burn again tomorrow
No man on earth can stand between my loving arms
And no matter how you hurt me, I will love you till I die
I ain't no vision, I'm the girl
Who loves you inside and out
Backwards and forwards with my heart hanging out
I love no other way
What are we gonna do if we lose that fire
Loves you inside and out
Backwards and forwards with my heart hanging out
I love no other way
What are we gonna do if we lose that fire
Inside and out
Inside and out
Inside and out
Inside and out
Inside and out
Inside and out
10 Tout doucement (02:31)
Tout doux, tout doux, tout doucement
Toujours, tout doux, tout doucement
Comme ça
La vie c'est épatant
Tout doux, tout doux, tout doucement
Toujours, tout doux, tout doucement
Comme ça
La vie je la comprends
N'allez jamais trop vite
Vous aurez tout le temps
Attention à la dynamite
Prenez garde au volcan, à ces gens énervés
Qui ne savent pas aller
Tout doux, tout doux, tout doucement
Toujours, tout doux, tout doucement
Comme ça
En flânant gentiment
N'allez jamais trop vite
En aimant simplement
Pour avoir de la réussite
Soyez très très prudent
L'amour alors viendra
Se blottir dans vos bras
Tout doux, tout doux, tout doucement
Toujours, tout doux, tout doucement
Comme ça
En flânant gentiment
En souriant gentiment
En flânant gentiment
Tout doucement
11 Now at Last (03:18)
Now at last I know
What a fool I've been
For I've lost the last love
I shall ever win
And/Now at last I see
How my heart was blind
To the joys before me
That I left behind
When the wind was fresh
On the hills
And the stars were new in the sky
And a lark was heard in the still
Where was I
Where was I
When the spring is cold
Where do robins go
What makes winters lonely
Now at last I know
When the wind was fresh
On the hills
And the stars were new in the sky
And a lark was heard in the still
Where was I
Where was I
When the spring is cold
Where do robins go
What makes winters lonely
Now at last I know
12 Gatekeeper (02:42)
Well it's time to begin as the summer sets in
It's the scene
You set for new lovers
You play your part painting in a new start
But each gate will open another
June, July and August said
"It's probably hard to plan ahead"
June, July and August said
"It's better to bask in each other"
Gatekeeper seasons wait for your nod
Gatekeeper you held your breath
Made the summer go on and on
Well they tried to stay in from the cold and wind
Making love and making their dinner
Only to find that the love that they grew in the summer
Froze
February, April said
"Don't be fooled by that summer again"
February, April said
"Well that half of the year, well we'll never be friends"
Gatekeeper seasons wait for your nod
Gatekeeper you held your breath
Made the winter go on and on
Gatekeeper, Gatekeeper, Gatekeeper
Seasons wait for your nod
Loading comments slowly
