After taking some time off, Feist, Canadian singer and songwriter, came back with a fourth album on Tuesday, "Metals". She left pop music behind her to return to her original interest of flirting with punk rock lines played under romantic notes and acoustic sounds.

"Metals" stands out from her previous work and presents a darker undertone, whether it is in the choice of music arrangements or in song themes. Feist's unique broken husky voice still resonates throughout the album, but its general ambiance does not perpetuate the lighter pop sound heard before in "Let It Die" or "The Reminder".

In 2004, she worked in close collaboration with the infamous Chilly Gonzales on popular hits such as "Gatekeeper" and "Mushaboom." Each track released on "Let It Die" was a combination of jazzy and bossa nova notes complimented with some indie rock chords.

This first great success was followed by "The Reminder" in 2006 where you can hear "My Moon My Man" and "1234." This last song became such a hit that Apple Inc. chose to feature it on their ipod Nano commercial. Feist also reached out to a younger audience with "1234" performing it on Sesame Street.

However, in an interview on the "Morning Edition" last week, Feist explains: "When I first played '1234', it was on stage in San Francisco, in some kind of sticky-floored club, and it felt like a punk song," she says. "I know it's ridiculous to say that now, but it had a kind of piercing straight melody, and then fist-pumping ending. … It just felt so simple in an absolutely non-patronizing way, and it's so funny that the song I approached with that sensibility became what it did, and turned everything on its head."   

Feist is an indie artist who sincerely believes in expressing the art of music in her own way. She appreciates the enormous worldwide success she experienced, but "Metals" sounds like she is taking a chance to promote a music closer to her persona. On Tuesday, the Huffington Post published this soundbite: "I made the record I wanted, so yeah, I couldn't be more rooted right now; like I kind of regained the grip on the steering wheel again."

If this fourth album is far from what Feist offered to her fans so far, the quality of "Metals" arrangements is still very much representative of Feist's talent. Her impressive collaboration with artists such as Gonzales and Mocky accompanied her already ripened rhythms. This new album is more of an inspirational focus than a popularized commercial product. In the "Morning Edition", she explains "Metals can be found unforged and raw, and molten in the center of the earth," she says. "But they can also be highly refined and turned into little tiny jewelry."

Feist is still very concerned with her fan base feedback and impression. When she performed one of her new songs on the "Late Show with David Letterman", not only did she post it on her Twitter account, but she also inquires to her fan base about an additional set of trombones to "How Come You Never Go There." Surrounded by supportive fans, Feist can be proud to say that her European dates are already sold out.

Reach staff reporter Rebecca here or follow her here