Leslie Feist has returned with The Reminder which is a slight departure from her 2004 breakthrough record, Let It Die. Whereas the former rocketed Feist to the top of the "independent" heap with its glossy introspective pop in tow, the latter proves that the cause for celebration was no fluke. The Reminder shows Feist taking things down a notch without losing her flair.

Let it Die seemed to support itself with the strength of its covers. Feist attempted The Bee Gee’s "Inside and Out" Ron Sexsmith "Secret Heart", even Blossom Dearie’s, "Now at Last" which shimmered among her own catchy originals. The Reminder strips off the gloss and sports an edgier yet still breezy sound. The album seems to be split between acoustic reveries determined to lull the audience into a submissive state or guiltless pop pastries.

"Limit To Your Love" is probably the closest thing to a pop masterpiece one can find these days: the steady and almost plaintive bass line, reminiscent of Motown, which anchors down the swelling strings which underscore the beauty and grace of Feist’s sandy, cool voice. Feist sings, "I love I love I love/This dream of going upstream" in the chorus and "There’s a limit to your love/Like a waterfall in slow motion/ Like a map with no ocean" like some sort of pop mistress version of Van Morrison-cum-Bob Marley. Equally stunning, "How My Heart Behaves," which closes the album is an achingly bittersweet statement full of harp and soul.

Songs like "I Feel It All" and its sound-alike twin "Past in Present" add a little grit to the haziness of The Reminder. The former turns a simple garage-rock song into pop simply by garnishing the melody with some glockenspiel. "My Moon My Man," which is one of most enjoyable songs about a rear end, is addictive when Feist purrs and slithers in the chorus: "Take it slow/Take it easy on me/Shed some light/Shed some light on me please."

"1234" has some of the most saccharine lyrics on the album and has one of the most pre-school friendly melodies and grating rhyming schemes. These are minor scratches and don’t damage the integrity of the album though. Another minor pitfall is Feist’s cover of Nina Simone’s "See-Line Woman" (though she changes that infamous call-and-response classic to "Sea-Lion Woman"). She adds a rockish accompaniment which fails to transcend the original but does give it a different flavor.

The intimacy of "The Park" followed by equally personal "The Water" have a similar sound and their near identical phrasing almost joins them at the hip, creating a somewhat elongated and drowsy suite. However, their sluggishness should be overlooked as Feist’s whispers can be just as enticing as her more enthusiastic numbers. The same complaint could be made about "Intuition" which is a lazy sounding ode to regret. However, the intimate detail of the performance, i.e. her unpolished guitar work, which sounds almost improvised at times, is a fragile beauty.

The Reminder is a beautiful record that showcases all that Leslie Feist embodies: playful well-constructed pop, emotionally heavy yet not overwrought songs about love and relationships, kittenish dedications, and bare-bones production. Despite the differences in each song’s sound there is a cohesion that makes the whole album a strong effort from one of Canada’s well-kept musical secrets.