Feist - Monarch (1999)192kbps

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Feist - Monarch

Year 1999

Tracks
1. Family
2. Onliest
3. La Sirena
4. One Year a.d.
5. Monarch
6. That's What I Say, It's Not What I Mean
7. Flight #303
8. Still True
9. The Mast
10. New Torch

A fantastic voice, off kilter but fitting and catchy arrangements, and smart (though eccentric) songwriting are the identifying marks of this album. And it pulled off a great feat, containing many moments that made me go, "What?" but at the same time offering me a completely engaging listen. It's not quite folk, rock, country, or alternapop, but echoes all of these styles without being confined to one.
Leslie Feist's songwriting arsenal is mind-boggling. Lyrically she sometimes implements word-play like The Loud Family's Scott Miller, sometimes cool, narrative poetry a la Suzanne Vega, sometimes romantic, simple invocations like traditional pop lyricists. And Feist mixes her own guitar playing, a prominent string section (brilliant arranged by Dave Szigeti), keyboards and drums in surprising, fresh ways, with parts that leap out at you at unexpected places that always give the songs a new texture. And her singing is sublime, at points slightly off-key when she feels like it, but then exploding into soaring bursts of pure emotion. The title track, with its heralding violin strains and nonstop tunefulness, is my favourite; "It's Cool to Love Your Family" begins the album on a wry, funky note; "La Sirena" is beautiful, evoking a feeling of loneliness and mild threat akin to Lisa Germano's Geek the Girl; "That's What I Say, It's Not What I Mean" is a pretty, pleading waltz; dazzling multipart vocals light up the rhythmically tricky ballad "Still True"; and "The Mast" is possibly the most moving melody on the whole record, Feist showing off her voice accompanied by a minimal instrumental backdrop.
This is a record I would've very much liked a lyric sheet to given Feist's very eccentric songwriting topicality and choice of lyrics. Other than that, I'm on board for the whole ride.