Metals
Feist
Polydor
★★★
Feist’s previous album, “The Reminder,” was the sort of hip, omnipresent record that saturated radio stations and TV commercials without wearing out its welcome. The music was unusual, with quirky hooks and gauzy vocals that helped separate songs like “1234” from other mainstream hits.
At the same time, Feist’s songs rarely ignored the traditions of pop music. Boosted with light electronics and bouncy tempos, they sounded commercial and inimitable at the same time, striking the ultimate compromise between indie fans and more conservative listeners. “The Reminder” enjoyed surprising popularity as a result, earning a handful of Grammy nominations and vaulting Feist’s little-known star into the stratosphere.
“Metals,” which follows her breakthrough album by four years, doesn’t concern itself with maintaining Feist’s reputation as an unlikely pop star. There are some upbeat moments here - “Undiscovered First” builds to a climatic, cathartic finish, and “A Commotion” pairs pizzicato strings with a half-screamed vocal refrain - but more of these songs are stark and sentimental, more suitable for a laid-back dinner party than a radio playlist. Strong melodies still anchor the mix, but they don’t really reveal their charms until the third or fourth listen, meaning “Metals” requires its audience to invest more time before reaping the rewards.
Jazz and blues, two genres that once played second fiddle to Feist’s folksy foundation, receive more time here, although neither one is explored fully. “Anti-Pioneer” hints at the blues without settling into a typical blues progression, and “How Come You Never Go There” flirts with the late-night ambience of jazz music, even if the chords have more in common with pop. Feist decorates both songs like a painter, swirling her colors together so nothing is monochrome. “Metals” may have shades of blue, but it’s not the blues.
For all their differences, “The Reminder” and “Metals” are still bonded by the quiet power of Feist’s voice. She sounds like a younger, cooler Tori Amos, crooning the ballads as though they’re torch songs and hitting the high notes with a hiccupping soprano. She almost always keeps her cool; even when the faster tunes reach their boiling point, she remains at a slow simmer, proving that intensity can be conveyed in ways other than volume.
There’s a steely side to “Metals,” but there’s color, too. The picture isn’t as bright as “The Reminder,” which traded the muted colors of Feist’s earlier work for bright splashes of neon. For older fans, though, this record may be just as evocative.
Scotty McCreery kicks off solo career and World Series
Five months is a lifetime in the speedy world of pop music. For “American Idol” champs like Scotty McCreery, it’s also the standard gap between winning the show and releasing an album.
“American Idol” no longer enjoys a stranglehold on the TV market. “The X Factor” is currently airing its first season in America, and “The Voice” enjoyed a popular run earlier this year. Since “American Idol” contestants can’t record an album until the season ends, they run the risk of being replaced by aspiring singers on other prime-time shows. At least “The Voice” had the foresight to release its contestants’ music while episodes were still being aired.
Mr. McCreery’s debut album, “Clear as Day,” hits stores today. “American Idol” winners typically release their albums around Thanksgiving, when Christmas shoppers are mostly likely to pick up a copy. Releasing “Clear as Day” one month earlier is a conscious effort to cash in some of the popularity he enjoyed in May, back when some 70 million votes were cast in his favor during the “American Idol” finale.
He’ll make several returns to TV this month, too, even performing the national anthem for the first World Series game.
Mr. McCreery called landing the coveted gig “incredible,” likening it to putting his “two greatest loves together,” according to the Associated Press.
People and Places
Jack’s Mannequin
Sire
★★★
“People and Places” dishes up more of the poppy, punky songs we’ve come to expect from Andrew McMahon, who launched his career with Something Corporate before trading his bandmates for a solo career. Jack’s Mannequin has since evolved into a proper band, too, but Mr. McMahon is still the brains behind the operation, and “People and Places” takes much of its content from his recent battle with cancer.
Mr. McMahon, a leukemia survivor since 2005, is still learning how to balance his roots in bright, sunny pop music with the darker influence of his hospital experience. Occasionally, he spins painfully honest lyrics into some of the album’s most moving songs. Still, the true highlights on this album are swift gems like “Amy, I” and “My Racing Thoughts,” neither of which tackle particularly heady issues.
“Everything In Transit,” written and recorded before Mr. McMahon’s cancer diagnosis, continues to be the band’s finest album. “People and Places” runs a close second, though.
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