Feist

Leslie Feist, who performs under the surname-as-band-name moniker Feist, has the sort of résumé that doesn't exactly fit with her sound. She once lived with potty-mouthed rapper Peaches and sang on her debut, then toured with her as Bitch Lap-Lap. But Feist isn't into rhyming hardcore with pussy galore. She's more of a modern chanteuse in the mold of Beth Orton meets folky disco. On her album Let It Die, she covers the Bee Gees' "Inside and Out," turning the erstwhile dance-floor hit into a spare and sly song of longing. Live, the Paris-based Feist is able to charm large audiences to snap along to her songs, clap in unison and provide accompaniments for her experiments with easy listening. She opens for her cohorts in Broken Social Scene, the Canadian legion of rock that features members of Stars and Do Make Say Think (and, of course, Feist). BSS's just-released self-titled album piles gentle melodies over sharp, driving beats and crams layers of sonic fluff into the few spaces left.