Three hearty, warm albums!

Feist.

I got a few new (old) albums this past week, and I thought I'd share some of my thoughts with you. I am amazed how albums from the 00's keep creeping up on me, and I've realized I'm gonna be backwardly discovering that decade for many years to come.

This time around, it's the wonderful Leslie Feist. I've had her most recent album, The Reminder, since December, and I must admit that in spite of the initial excitement, it has waned on me somewhat. Now, however, I've gotten a hold of its predecessor, Let It Die from 2004, which has impressed me greatly. There's a lot more warmth and more of the wink in the eye that suits Feist's velvet voice so greatly. I'm digging quite a number of tunes off it - 'One Evening' and 'Leisure Suite' are pure porn, 'Inside And Out', 'When I Was A Young Girl' and 'Mushaboom' are really groovy, and much more musically interesting than the often minimalist sound on The Reminder. And 'Let It Die' itself is a bitter and beautiful reminder that things can go wrong. A classy album!

Moving further towards the present, I'm starting to embrace the soon-to-be imminent arrival of a new album by Bon Iver. If you haven't, be quick snap and check out the teaser he's laid out on his website - sure sounds promising! Anyway, which better way to prepare for the most interesting release this year, than to give his 2009 EP Blood Bank a few whirls? I actually am not sure why I haven't done so before now. I guess it's some sort of fear of contact, because For Emma, Forever Ago is so sacred. Anyway, whereas the aforementioned is about the cold, Blood Bank could fittingly be described as being about the warmth that gets you through it. There are only four tunes on here, but they're like a four-headed monster of soothing bliss. 'Blood Bank' is Vernon at his story-telling best, and what a pretty story. 'Beach Baby' is a biting reminder of the sentiments that spurred For Emma, Forever Ago. 'Babys' is a delicate piece of forward-looking hopefulness, and 'Woods' is just a piece of meditative beauty!

Finally, I've at long last had my Efterklang revelation! I've seen them live and been very impressed by it, but somehow, I've never really embraced their ornate and artful indie-pop in its recorded versions 'till now. My mate Johan was over last weekend however, and he brought their last album, Magic Chairs, which I must admit is a true pleasure. I had it in my headphones sitting by the fiord with a big-ass hangover last Sunday, and it was really a tour-de-force through true musicianship. It's hard to point out specific highlights, other than perhaps 'Raincoats', which has a slight (probably unintended) rhythmic kinship with Radiohead's '15 Step'. 'Harmonics' and 'Alike' are also very impressive.