Multitudes presents a fearless and courageous Feist

This album seems to have a fascination with cycles: of life, of nature, of belief. These rhythms define a critical shift for the singer towards acceptance in her professional and personal life. Subdued but deeply emotionally resonant, Multitudes came out of a transformative period for Feist; she became a mother and lost her father in quick succession. She said of writing the record, “[There is] nothing performative in me anymore.” This sentiment animates Multitudes – Feist shows no fear or uncertainty on this album.

“I’ve never begun / a forever before,” she sings, in a confessional and hopeful tone. There is little to hide behind in the instrumentation; many of the songs are extremely sparse, with only Feist’s vocals and a guitar, played by Amir Yaghmai (HAIM, Julian Casablancas, Devendra Banhart). Her vocal melodies – meandering but traditional, expertly balancing intrigue and sonic satisfaction – are allowed to blossom in the empty space. The starkness of the arrangements makes the lush harmonic expansions especially beautiful by contrast; singles “In Lightning” and “Borrow Trouble” are some of the only big moments on the record, emotional releases amid deep contemplation.

“Borrow Trouble” is especially cathartic, nestled between two songs that wrestle darkly with death and duty. The last chorus features playful horns and Feist’s repeated yelling, “Trouble!” Her voice is incredibly emotive in both its freedom and restraint across the record, but both extremes are present in this song. She turns her exacting lyrical gaze inward: “So good at picturing the life that I was gonna be left out of / Rather than the one I’d made.” These moments of clarity amidst the turmoil of reflection are gratifying for the listener, following Feist on the journey through her grief.

Multitudes is very much rooted in its origins: the experimental residency shows in which Feist wrote and workshopped much of the material and the landscape where it was recorded, the Northern California Redwoods. The collaborative nature of the residency shows was woven into the fabric of the ideas that would later become songs on the record. Feist explores personal subjects more transparently than ever before, seemingly bolstered by the community around her in the writing process. These songs are completely unobscured by the heavy use of metaphor that marked her previous work.

With Multitudes Feist has entered a new era in her artistry, one in which she makes space for reverie. Her grand realisations are beautifully stated: “Love is not a thing you try to do / It wants to be the thing compelling you.” Multitudes leaves listeners feeling like they have something to learn from Feist, who is becoming a prophet of her generation.