Feist mines pain, passion – Albarn masterminds chaos

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Feist, “Pleasure” (Interscope)

Canadian singer-songwriter Feist has, by her own account, gone through some low times since the release of her last album, 2011’s “Metals.”

So listeners won’t be unsurprised to find deep seam of pain on her new record. But there is also plenty to enjoy on “Pleasure,” a collection of songs that feel alternately delicate and raw.

Nothing here has the instant-earworm quality of Feist’s biggest hit, the bouncy “1234” from 2007 album “The Reminder,” which was used to sell iPods in Apple ads and to teach kids to count on “Sesame Street.” ‘’Pleasure” is a bolder and sadder affair.

The title track opens the album and sets the tone, as Feist’s rich, resonant voice goes from a murmur to a shout against a crunchy guitar backdrop. The lyrics — “It’s my pleasure, and your pleasure” — could be a celebration, or a lament.

Feist’s diverse influences — folk, indie rock, jazz, metal and more — remain discernable, but the album has a pared-down feel. Many songs are built around her voice — quirky, ironic, delicate, arresting — and the sounds of a guitar being plucked, strummed or whacked. A bit of background crackle and hiss add to the sense of analogue intimacy.

The effect is yearning on “I Wish I Didn’t Miss You,” sensuous on “Get Not High, Get Not Low” and achingly bluesy on “I’m Not Running Away.”

There’s a sense of an artist keen to keep listeners off-balance. “Any Party” is an anti-party anthem (“You know I would leave any party for you”) that builds to a rousing chorus, and “Century” is propulsively catchy until Jarvis Cocker pops up to intone about time.

Gorillaz, “Humanz” (Warner Bros.)

Damon Albarn masterminds a chaotic party on “Humanz,” the fifth album by Gorillaz, the virtual band relying on an extensive guest list, from De La Soul and Peven Everett to D.R.A.M. and Grace Jones.

Across 20 tracks, including five interludes, Albarn creates a beat-heavy soundtrack to Donald Trump’s victory, his nightmare scenario, while excising any direct references to the president. It’s a fractured but powerful album, like reality itself.

Vince Staples sets the political tone with “Ascension,” a dire portrait of a country “where you can get a Glock and a gram for the cheap, where you can live your dreams long as you don’t look like me.” (AP)

Jamaica’s Popcaan elevates the reggae-inflected “Saturnz Barz,” followed by De La Soul on the insistent “Momentz,” where “clocks on the wall talk to watches on the wrist.” On “Submission,” Kelela’s velvety vocals contrast with Danny Brown’s desperate rap.

So where’s Albarn? Everywhere, but especially on the backing tracks. He wrote or co-wrote the songs and performs most of the music but only the reflective “Busted and Blue” is almost him alone. It’s a little midpoint oasis before more guest vocalists like Mavis Staples and Anthony Hamilton.

While “Humanz” relies principally on American contributors, Albarn shares the closing tracks with fellow Brits, like Benjamin Clementine and Jehnny Beth from the band Savages.

Even Britpop rival Noel Gallagher appears on “We Got the Power,” which bids the album farewell while offering hope in a new era — “We got the power to be loving each other, no matter what happens, we’ve got the power to do that.”

In the end, home is where the heart is. (AP)

By Jill Lawless

This news has been read 4900 times!