Feist – Multitudes

After the more subdued tones of 2017’s ‘Pleasure’, Leslie Feist has returned with arguably her most intimate and electrifying album yet. Workshopped during communal gatherings in 2021 and 2022, ‘Multitudes’ sees the Canadian songwriter tackle themes of motherhood and grief in a fearlessly open manner. While creating beauty with the simplest of words and the sweetest of voices is nothing new to this acclaimed artist over two decades into her career, this sixth full-length boasts a welcome sense of experimentation. From the opening clatter of ‘In Lighting,’ there is a sense of exhilaration, droning strings, and off-kilter percussion working in perfect contrast to Feist’s heavenly multitracked vocals. There are echoes of Bon Iver’s brilliant ‘22, A Million’ here, a chaotic, often glitched-out rumble anchored by a traditional singer-songwriter composition at its core. 

Elsewhere tracks such as ‘Love Who We Are Meant To’ and the enchanting ‘The Redwing’ wisely let guitar and voice do the talking, their tales of romance and nature left to soar plainly. On the brooding ‘Become The Earth,’ things build to a mighty crescendo, a beautiful and hypnotic ode to losing those closest to our hearts. Never one to disappoint, Feist has re-entered lives to soundtrack the Spring and coming Summer in a way only she can.

Words: Sam Walker-Smart

Dig It? Dig Deeper: Bon Iver, Laura Marling, Villagers

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