MIND INVERSION

Most people seem to know Leslie Feist as the fun-loving, dancing and singing girl from the old iPod nano commercials, but little known is the fact that she actually has songs out there other than the hit “1234.” Last year’s album The Reminder was one of my favorite of the year, and topped the list of dozen’s of critics as well. Tracks like “1234” “My Moon My Man” and “Sea Lion Women” are just a few of the many highlights on an album that keeps the listener in check with the brilliant mix of somber and energetic songs (well, as energetic as Feist can get). Luckily for all of the supporters The Reminder, and there are many including me, Feist recently released some sorta-new, sorta not-new material to hold us over until her next full length LP. What I meant by the wishy washy description of the album is that it’s all remixes and rarities from The Reminder, much like how Open Season was to her first stellar album Let It Die.

Some of the same guests appear on this album (Van She and Gonzales) that helped on Open Season, giving hope of successful remixes of already near flawless tracks. “1234” got an obvious re-work by the likes of already mentioned Van She, and the track doesn’t lose a step in the process. What could have just easily been mistaken for a Daft Punk remix, Van She does an excellent job of adding an electronic mix to the hit while at the same time not over-whelming the listener like so many remixes nowadays end up doing. Gonzales again lends a helping hand, this time to “I Feel It All” and the results are just as successful. The re-work doesn’t drastically change the song, but an M.I.A. styled gun sample added to the chorus sticks out unexpectedly.

Fans of the “Indie” music scene; however, will immediately skip to the Grizzly Bear mix of “My Moon My Man.” Although the track already had some work done to it my electro king pins Boys Noize, Grizzly Bear doesn’t fall short of the high mark. Uncharacteristic of past Grizzly Bear material, they take a slightly ambient-techno route to the song, while not totally changing the main skeleton of the track at all. The result is a fine blend of echoing synths and an easy to love song that lives up to the any billing it may have had.

Other highlights of this re-release include an epic 8 minute rendition of “Lover’s Spit,” a Broken Social Scene track that is essentially strung-out and dumbed-down on this album. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing, Feist is left to slowly wind her way through the song with nothing much other than a piano that seems stuck on repeat and a high hat that never seems to stop rumbling. A great addition for fans of the original and those still praying that Feist will once again do an album with Broken Social Scene, despite the odds apparently dwindling according to various news sources.

Other tracks will be found on the deluxe edition, but none worth discussing at all. But along with the additional music comes a few Music Videos: a very fun and frequent flier friendly rendition of “My Moon My Man” and of course “1234” which most everyone has seen a million times already, but hey, it is pretty awesome…I guess.

The Reminder: Deluxe Edition Re-Release is an excellent addition to anyone’s music collection who doesn’t already own the amazing 2007 release, but for those who do it’s not a bad idea to go the route of mp3 downloading so you only have to pay for the new material not already owned.

7.5/10

As an added bonus I’ll give you lucky readers one other remix of a song from the original album, and in my opinion a mix that is actually better than anything Feist chose for the re-release. Keep reading to enjoy… Continue reading →