I can scribble down a dozen great women musicians off the top of my head, from the chanteuse gospel of Neko Case’s solo work, anti-stiletto punk of The Breeder’s Kim Deal and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, to Bjork’s alien sensualism and harpist Joanna Newsom’s Neil Young-meets-traveling bard folk epics. Still, I almost always find it difficult to latch onto even some of the more respected lady songwriters; though I may be branded as a narrow-minded bigot for saying so, it seems to me too many women marginalize themselves with the image of the menstruating minstrel (some call it “tampon rock”), relying too heavily on the purely emotive qualities of their music – let’s light scented candles on stage, sing out about unrequited love and never stray from the almighty major chords! Admittedly, I have a soft spot for Norah Jones – though I cringe knowing that she hardly writes her own material, until her latest release Not Too Late that wasn’t half bad and bore her pen marks all over it – I’d much rather have a chick wiling to leave the microphone reeking of booze and bearing the remnants of her smeared lipstick. The thing is, Feist is absolutely neither: she drips femininity, but never relies on it as a sentimental crutch. Though I may not completely agree with the formula that says a reliable barometer of how well a female artist will succeed can be determined on how many fans want to bed her (I honestly can’t remember where I read that), it may well fit with Feist, whose coffeehouse tunes and honeydew voice on her third LP The Reminder stands as the most blatantly romantic, “Can I rub your shoulders?” make-out album of the year. Inviting you back inside from the cold rain with the soft strums of opener “So Sorry,” to the lovelorn strole through “The Park,” star-crossed playfulness of “Brandy Alexander” and swirling piano-key ballad of closer “How My Heart Behaves,” so much of Reminder surpasses mere moonstruck infatuation, though, and distinguishes itself with the girl-pop frolic of “I Feel It All,” followed by “My Moon, My Man,” “The Limit To Your Love” and “1,2,3,4″ that are simply some of ’07’s best songs. Alongside that, Feist strays into Afro-beat chants on “Sea Lion Woman,” stripped-down singer/songwriter role on “Intuition” and the starkly hollow-hearted “The Water,” which may be the most unnervingly emtpy song since Pearl Jam’s “Indifference” back in ‘93. Like so many other artists that have splintered from the success of the Broken Social Scene collective, The Reminder proves Feist to be their best spin-off yet.
