Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
For Feist to begin her first record in six years with a pregnant pause is a pretty bold move. The teasing, introductory silence is answered with lead single "Pleasure," which refuses to play to expectation. Much like her last record, Metals, eschewed her reputation as a creator of indie pop smashes like "1234" and "Mushaboom" through a series of moodily atmospheric pieces, Pleasure is yet another progression. The title track is a lusty take on raw, bluesy rock that echoes PJ Harvey at her most mischievous and playful. Similarly, the follow-up single, "Century," is full of staccato punkish swagger that leads into a rousing and earnest chorus: "Someone who will lead you to someone/Who will lead you to someone/Who will lead you to the one/At the end of the century." There's barely time to digest this shift before Jarvis Cocker's dulcet tones appear, the effect simultaneously humorous and dramatic. But nothing is quite as alarming as the way the song ends: like someone cut the power, lights out. The unceremonious conclusion tells you a lot about the record as a whole and Leslie Feist's rejection of neat, contented endings. Structurally, Pleasure is consistently surprising, as compositions lead you to expect a certain progression, only to veer wildly in another direction. By comparison, the unabashedly romantic "Any Party" is all the more beguiling for its simplicity. Led by an acoustic guitar played loosely and passionately, she croons "You know I'd leave any party for you/Sugar I got no question it was the right thing to do."
The production is raw, but not in a crude sense; rather, the rounded echo and persistent hiss make it sound like she's performing these songs in your living room. The lack of polish lends the record intimacy, warmth, and immediacy that make tracks like the heart-sore "I Wish I Didn't Miss You" all the more affecting. Vocally, Feist has never been in more dexterous form. She delivers the desperate lines "I felt some certainty that you must have died/Because how could I live if you're still alive" with a disarming intensity; on the beautifully bruised "Baby Be Simple" she sounds exposed like never before via whispered tones. Time and desire weigh heavily on the record. But ruminations on past, present, and future are left bereft of narrative closure, as she sings "A man is not his song/And I'm not a story." That's not to say she doesn't understand longing for tidy summations. The most stirring moment on the record is the call and response between Feist and choir: "The man is not his song/Though we all want to sing along/We all heard those old melodies/Like they're singing right to me" -- within which she reflects the powerful need to make connections, and our attempts to cheat mortality through the permanence of art. Feist has made her sex-and-death record, and in turn she has created her boldest statement yet. It's messy, confusing, thrilling, and of course, filled with pleasure.
© Bekki Bemrose /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $16.65/month
RENAUD LETANG, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Taylor, Synthesizer, Electric Bass, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Feist, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Mandy Parnell, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mocky, Producer, Drums, Electric Bass, Mellotron, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - CHILLY GONZALES, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Patricia Sullivan, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2017 Polydor (France)
RENAUD LETANG, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Taylor, Electric Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Feist, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Mandy Parnell, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mocky, Producer - Patricia Sullivan, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2017 Polydor (France)
RENAUD LETANG, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Taylor, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Feist, Producer, Drums, Guitar, Organ, Percussion, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Mandy Parnell, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mocky, Producer, Keyboards, Percussion, Electric Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Patricia Sullivan, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2017 Polydor (France)
RENAUD LETANG, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Feist, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, Melodica, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Mandy Parnell, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mocky, Producer, Keyboards, Percussion, Electric Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Patricia Sullivan, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2017 Polydor (France)
RENAUD LETANG, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Taylor, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Feist, Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Mandy Parnell, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mocky, Producer, Drums, Keyboards, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Patricia Sullivan, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2017 Polydor (France)
RENAUD LETANG, Producer, Mixer, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Taylor, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Feist, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Mandy Parnell, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mocky, Producer, Drums, Electric Bass, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Patricia Sullivan, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2017 Polydor (France)
RENAUD LETANG, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Taylor, Percussion, Programming, AssociatedPerformer - Colin Stetson, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Feist, Producer, Guitar, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Mandy Parnell, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mocky, Producer, Keyboards, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Patricia Sullivan, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2017 Polydor (France)
RENAUD LETANG, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Taylor, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Jarvis Cocker, Author, FeaturedArtist - Feist, Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Electric Bass, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Mandy Parnell, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Brian Lebarton, Author - Mocky, Producer, Drums, Organ, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - CHILLY GONZALES, Organ, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2017 Polydor (France)
RENAUD LETANG, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Taylor, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Feist, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, Mellotron, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Mandy Parnell, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mocky, Producer, Percussion, Electric Bass, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Patricia Sullivan, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2017 Polydor (France)
RENAUD LETANG, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Taylor, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Feist, Producer, Guitar, Organ, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Mandy Parnell, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mocky, Producer, Electric Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Patricia Sullivan, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2017 Polydor (France)
RENAUD LETANG, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Taylor, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Feist, Producer, Organ, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Mandy Parnell, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mocky, Producer, Electric Bass, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Patricia Sullivan, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2017 Polydor (France)
Album review
For Feist to begin her first record in six years with a pregnant pause is a pretty bold move. The teasing, introductory silence is answered with lead single "Pleasure," which refuses to play to expectation. Much like her last record, Metals, eschewed her reputation as a creator of indie pop smashes like "1234" and "Mushaboom" through a series of moodily atmospheric pieces, Pleasure is yet another progression. The title track is a lusty take on raw, bluesy rock that echoes PJ Harvey at her most mischievous and playful. Similarly, the follow-up single, "Century," is full of staccato punkish swagger that leads into a rousing and earnest chorus: "Someone who will lead you to someone/Who will lead you to someone/Who will lead you to the one/At the end of the century." There's barely time to digest this shift before Jarvis Cocker's dulcet tones appear, the effect simultaneously humorous and dramatic. But nothing is quite as alarming as the way the song ends: like someone cut the power, lights out. The unceremonious conclusion tells you a lot about the record as a whole and Leslie Feist's rejection of neat, contented endings. Structurally, Pleasure is consistently surprising, as compositions lead you to expect a certain progression, only to veer wildly in another direction. By comparison, the unabashedly romantic "Any Party" is all the more beguiling for its simplicity. Led by an acoustic guitar played loosely and passionately, she croons "You know I'd leave any party for you/Sugar I got no question it was the right thing to do."
The production is raw, but not in a crude sense; rather, the rounded echo and persistent hiss make it sound like she's performing these songs in your living room. The lack of polish lends the record intimacy, warmth, and immediacy that make tracks like the heart-sore "I Wish I Didn't Miss You" all the more affecting. Vocally, Feist has never been in more dexterous form. She delivers the desperate lines "I felt some certainty that you must have died/Because how could I live if you're still alive" with a disarming intensity; on the beautifully bruised "Baby Be Simple" she sounds exposed like never before via whispered tones. Time and desire weigh heavily on the record. But ruminations on past, present, and future are left bereft of narrative closure, as she sings "A man is not his song/And I'm not a story." That's not to say she doesn't understand longing for tidy summations. The most stirring moment on the record is the call and response between Feist and choir: "The man is not his song/Though we all want to sing along/We all heard those old melodies/Like they're singing right to me" -- within which she reflects the powerful need to make connections, and our attempts to cheat mortality through the permanence of art. Feist has made her sex-and-death record, and in turn she has created her boldest statement yet. It's messy, confusing, thrilling, and of course, filled with pleasure.
© Bekki Bemrose /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 11 track(s)
- Total length: 00:53:36
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: Feist
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Universal Music Division Decca Records France
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 2017 Polydor (France) ℗ 2017 Polydor (France)
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.