Feist’s first seven years as a solo artist would make anyone tired just reading about ’em. There were Grammy nominations; Juno Award wins; teaching Muppets to count with her Apple iPod spruiking and Sally Seltmann co-written song, “1234”; appearing on Stephen Colbert’s show; not to mention countless collaborations with the likes of Beck and Wilco. Needless to say, the poor girl and member of indie rock band Broken Social Scene needed some downtime and an opportunity to take stock. In being still she learned that silence can be equally terrifying and beneficial as she was also able to go over the many lessons she’d learned over the years.

Soon the music would come and this would turn into her fourth studio album, Metals. A 12-song affair with an organic feel, this time Feist finds herself more like a narrator and not just revealing her own truths and feelings. Instead, making casual observations and coupling this with the folk wisdom she has gleaned.

Metals is full of contrasts and was perhaps destined to be this way from the get-go. It was written in semi seclusion over three months in a garage. But when it came to recording Feist got in her long-time collaborators: Chilly Gonzales (Jason Charles Beck) and Mocky (Dominic Salole) to practice as a band and attempt to reach a level of tightness that bellied the years of experience they shared. They did this in a giant, empty space on California’s Big Sur coastline and lyrically, Feist seems to be sitting there staring at the sea on this empty plane, making observations about the world and basically taking universal emotions and putting her own personal spin and individual filter to it.

There is plenty of lightness and darkness on here, meaning again she grapples with material that can be as weighty as the others are whimsy. There are soft and subtle moments that lull you with their gentle lilt and at other times there are tracks that swing and bop with big confident pop sounds. In describing the LP, Feist said the contrast she was hinting at is indicative of the peaks and troughs in life as there can be as many good times as there are bad. There is a disparity between how we feel and the way we wish we felt and as many moments of the deep and meaningful as there are throwaway and flippant. Plus, she managed to achieve this all while forging a bridge between her past and present self.

“The Bad In Each Other” has some fancy percussion à la Florence and the Machine that is coupled with the kind of melodic guitar work typically heard on a José González tome. “Caught A Long Wind” is a piano ballad much like the ethereal Regina Spektor’s work crossed with the heart of Joni Mitchell. And then there’s some ramshackle pop on the aptly titled, “A Commotion” that actually sounds a little like Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Cheated Hearts”.

Elsewhere we get gorgeous and sublime pop etched into memories that are bittersweet on – you guessed it – “Bittersweet Memories;” a slow-burning ballad on “Anti-Pioneer;” and a soft, acoustic number that is the most Feist-sounding track on “Cicadas and Gulls”. The closer, “Get It Wrong, Get It Right” is certainly one of her most personal pieces. With an angelic voice soaring ever high, Feist reveals all about the changes in the seasons of emotions and the full gamut of feelings experienced between two people. Lovely.

On Metals Feist has undergone a transformation, producing a rich and ripe record where she contrasts romanticism with pure and simple pop sensibilities. She has fashioned songs that are intensely personal and others borrowed from the perspectives and experiences of those around her. If anything the album is like the musical equivalent of a patchwork quilt where each piece has been made into an individual pattern with some parts ever-so-exquisite and intricate – real gems – while others are a little more casual and throwaway. At times the image of it all may seem rather incohesive and uneven, but when it’s all coupled together it is still beautiful in its own unique and irregular way and guaranteed to provide warmth and comfort.

Review Score: 8.5/10