Grade: A-
Everything that has ever been present on a Feist album in the past — the folksy acoustic guitars, plucky piano notes and the pop-friendliness of singer Leslie Feist’s voice — is refined on the singer-songwriter’s latest album, “Metals.” Metallic is a good way to describe the new batch of songs — they are sleeker, heavier and smoother. Where in the past most songs would have been supported almost entirely by a slinking piano progression, guitar riffs accompany most songs on this album and provide the metal the album title suggests. “Metals” has a less eclectic range of music and finds Feist in a more focused direction. This collection of songs is grander in scale and is a more confident, self-assured work — one that finds the singer fine-tuning her craft.