MySpace Music Discovery: Feist

This summer, I happened to stumble upon Feist's MySpace page and was delighted with the discovery. She's been around for a little while, and she's also a former member of Broken Social Scene. I don't keep up with them, so I guess that's why I didn't hear the news about her decision to start anew as a solo musician.

When it comes to Feist's voice, Doris Day comes to mind, but there's definitely more vibrato in there, and even a bit more scratchy sultriness. Still, she has that classic voice that makes her sound older than she really is. But don't let the description of Feist's voice being that of someone more mature turn you off, because she takes a youthful approach in creating music that's paradoxically vintage while also being refreshingly new. At unexpected but appropriate times, Feist creatively incorporates the intricately manipulated sounds of various instruments and musical devices. The music they create complements her voice as it adds character to the often lightly poetic and usually amusing lyrics.

Sometimes sounding like stories, and other times resembling songs that could be featured on a fairytale, Feist's tunes give a nod to the past while definitely including the originality and newness that combine to give good music its trademark description.