I actually had no idea who Feist was until I stumbled across her lead video for this album some months back now. There was just something about her raw, artsy, almost folk style that immediately drew me in. I was intrigued and I needed to hear more, so I was all over Pleasure when it finally dropped.
Feist was definitely going for a very specific sound on the album. It’s all fairly minimal, stripped down, and raw in it’s production. You won’t find any grand, complicated compositions here, just a handful of instruments and a keen understanding of spacing. Most of the songs rarely feature more than a wavering guitar and some sparse percussion. They almost come off as half finished, but that actually heightens the whole intimate and emotional feel of the album. There’s large stretches of emptiness only broken up by light atmospherics and small pockets of musical outbursts. She crafted a really surreal listen that’ll have you feeling like you’re floating through the ether.
“You called me baby, I called you one too
Until you spoke to me with another voice
You sent in spiders to fight for you
I was so disappointed I didn’t know what to do”
The production was really perfect for Feist’s raw, emotional songwriting. She speaks about heartbreak, loss, and trying to find your way in the aftermath of it all. Her incredibly layered voice sounds vulnerable and lonely, but at the same time accepting of the process as she awakens from the haze. It’s that voice that’s the real star of the show and the main instrument she employs as she brings so much expression to the album’s many open spaces. Pleasure is intimate, very intimate, and that brings such an authentic feel to her music; a feel that you don’t feel too often in music. I was right to want to check this one out. Pleasure is an exceptionally crafted piece of art.
Have you heard Pleasure? What’d you think about it? Did you like her minimalist approach? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to leave your own ratings and reactions for the album.
