Although “Open Season,” the latest release from Canadian songstress Leslie Feist, is technically a remix album, it turns out not to be what one might expect from this type of disc. Selections are pulled mostly from the critically acclaimed debut “Let It Die,” as well as a few collaborations. Unlike the first album, this isn’t all about throbbing bass and crazy kids on Ecstasy, it’s a disc that features Feist’s reconstructed songs using new drumbeats, added instrumentation and vocal effects – the results are surprisingly charming.
The album opens with a solo piano version of “One Evening,” by producer Gonzales, successfully erasing any preconceived notions of beats per minute, pacifiers and glow-sticks. This rendition is just as lovely as the original, though not as sexy without Feist’s sultry vocals to dictate the song’s mood.
Feist’s own cover of the Bee Gees’ “Inside and Out,” presented by Apostle of Hustle as an “UnMix,” is just that. Featuring only a scratchy guitar and Feist’s haunting vocals, the lack of synths and beats gives the song the loneliness and despair that should have been in the original.
Not surprisingly, the album also features four remixes of Feist’s signature song “Mushaboom,” and while each has its own charm, the Postal Service mix is by far the best, mainly because it stays truest to the original. Postal Service-sounding electronics and added vocals from Ben Gibbard give the song a new twist without compromising the charm of its predecessor.
Other remixes of the song are a bit more official – including both Mocky and VV (the French electronic duo and frequent Feist companions) taking shots at “Mushaboom,” but both versions are only so-so.
Apart from the remixes, some of the best songs on the album are previously unreleased collaborations – a sure treat for Feist fans who have been hungry for a second album since the release of “Let It Die” in 2004.
The cover of Peaches’ “Lovertits” is a surprisingly sweet take on the original, but the disc’s most attention-grabbing song might be “Snow Lion,” a tune whose use of sleepy beats and a ghostlike harp could easily be the next “Mushaboom.”
The album finishes with three VV mixes, as well as a Do Right Mix of “Gatekeeper,” all of which are decent, but “Gatekeeper” is certainly the best of the lot. Generally, the VV mixes were unimpressive and uninspired at best, and a bit of a disappointment.
Overall, there’s nothing revolutionary here, but the album showcases the versatility of Feist’s voice and music. It achieves what it set out to do: Prove that remixes don’t need to be over-the-top to be successful, and that Feist is one of the best female vocalists in the today’s up-and-coming music scene.
