50 Top 10 Lists of 2007

Top 10 Albums

#3. The Reminder
by Feist

Leslie Feist sings about heartbreak, misunderstandings and romantic betrayal, but lyrics like, "Money can't buy you back the love that you had then," which, in lesser hands might set you digging at your veins with a spoon, actually come off exultant. The trick isn't so much Feist's voice — an unfussy instrument that adapts easily to bossa nova, chanteuse-y ballads and a banjo nursery rhyme sing-a-long — so much as her delivery; she never reaches for melodrama when warmth and optimism are so close by. Feist hovers over songs like 1 2 3 4 and Brandy Alexander, giving their dark hearts a gentle kiss and making everything seem just right.

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