Feist’s musical direction shifted once again on her most recent effort Pleasure, with the music now more reminiscent of Billy Bragg styled folk punk than her older efforts.
British singer James Blake’s lead single off his self-titled 2011 debut album is a cover of Feist’s “The Limit to Your Love”, a cover that to this day remains his highest charting single in his native country U.K.
She’s also part of the Canadian collective Broken Social Scene, which has also released some of the best received indie rock records in Canada over the past decade.
With 11 Juno Awards and a Polaris Music Prize to her name, Feist’s influence can already be seen as one that is cemented.
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire was formed in Montreal by singer Win Butler, who over time recruited numerous members before settling on a final lineup with; Richard Reed Perry, Tim Kingsbury, Jeremy Gara, William Butler and Régine Chassange.
Like Feist, Arcade Fire has released five studio albums to date, with their debut record Funeral being named by Pitchfork as the second-best album of the 2000s, and the 151st greatest album of all time by Rolling Stones magazine. Even early on the band found themselves compared to greats such as R.E.M. and Radiohead.
Their second album Neon Bible was released in 2007 to the praise of critics. The band followed up the album with The Suburbs in 2010, which won album of the year at the Grammy Awards in 2011, making them the first band signed to an indie record label to win the award.
Their two latest releases Reflektor and Everything Now saw the band move towards a dance-rock direction inspired by bands like LCD Soundsystem, with Reflektor produced by LCD Soundsystem’s frontman James Murphy. The title track off Reflektor gave the band their first top 100 hit in the USA.
Famous fans and admirers of the band include David Bowie and Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine, with the former famously inviting the band in 2005 to perform with him in a live TV special and later providing backing vocals for their song “Reflektor.”
With all the albums they have currently released, Arcade Fire has already proven themselves to be one of the most influential acts of the 2000s, and without any incidents, one of the greatest bands of all time.
Alvvays
Toronto-based dream pop band Alvvays (pronounced always) has released two records, a self-titled record in 2014 and Antisocialites in 2017.
The band’s ability to become their generations Cocteau Twins is one based on current promise. While their debut proved to be a solid jangle pop/indie album, there was a fear that Alvvays will simply be a lesser Beach House or Angel Olsen.