Feist at the Ryman

There’s something to be said about having your song featured on one of the omnipresent iPod commercials. Apple has a knack for finding the most infectious songs being ignored by the general public and turning them into money in the bank. Before “1234” by Feist was tossed into the national spotlight by Apple on recent iPod Nano commercials, she was only doing moderately well in the United States. The single was sitting at a comfortable 2,000 downloads per week and the album, “The Reminder,” had reached No. 36 on the Billboard 200 chart, a personal best for the Canadian singer.

But, after the commercial hit the airwaves, all of those numbers skyrocketed. Weekly downloads of “1234” tripled and the record has since jumped to No. 16 on the Billboard charts. She appeared on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” accompanied by an indie all-star choir featuring members of bands like Broken Social Scene and Mates of State, and “Saturday Night Live” as a direct result of the ad’s success. The recent success is well deserved, because “The Reminder” is easily one of the best records released in 2007.

“The Reminder” is a lush dream of an album. Although much of the subject matter – love, loss and the emotions associated with both – has been well explored over the years by countless other singers, the way Feist performs the songs makes them feel fresh and new. Songs like “The Water” and “Intuition” let Feist’s sultry, echoing voice lead you through a fog of cleverly arranged jazzy melodies laden with piano and brass instruments, not to mention the occasional well-placed hand claps.

One of album’s the strongest points is the arrangement and how the use of odder instruments doesn’t feel forced. Flourishes of glockenspiel and banjo act as nothing more than subtle touches, instead of taking over to say “look how delightfully strange we are!” No matter what, the songs always place Feist’s voice at the focal point. She no doubt faces comparisons to similar indie darlings like Regina Spektor and Chan Marshall from Cat Power, but her voice is distinct enough that I don’t feel like I’m listening to a retread of all of those other singers. Even when performing a cover song, as she often does, Feist offers something new, as subtle as that enhancement may be, and that’s why she’ll head to greater and greater popularity.