It was “1234” that made Leslie Feist a household name, but it took her an awfully long time to get to that last number in terms of albums, and Metals marks her return after a five-year hiatus.

At first listen, the disc sounds suspiciously similar to a number of other major summer releases, but this isn’t really a problem. Feist is certainly not guilty of lazy repetition and the shared elements are generally positive in character: interesting arrangements and mellow atmospherics.

Feist’s usually prominent vocals are balanced out with the use of careful instrumental arrangements, indicating more of a focus on songwriting than before. Metals doesn’t have any belting numbers like “I Feel It All” or “Sealion,” but its songs still pack a punch, just in a more understated way. Tracks like “Bittersweet Melody” and “Graveyard” culminate in powerful choruses, but there is a melancholy in them more appropriate to a campfire than the dance floor.

The album is more creative than its predecessors. Feist uses her vocals in a wider variety of ways, juxtaposing her voice with a masculine chorus in “A Commotion” to great effect, and transitioning from whispery to exuberant with confident ease.

Metals reveals a more open Feist than before, one willing to experiment and disclose parts of herself that we have yet to see.