Feist tour to start high, finish low

Canadian singer-songwriter Feist and her band of the same name will kick off a month of North American touring in January.

Feist--whose first name is Leslie, though she prefers to go by her surname professionally--and her group will start off the month playing shows in her native country, beginning with a Jan. 13 appearance in St. Johns, Newfoundland, before veering southward for several U.S. dates later in the month.

The Canadian leg of the tour includes a two-night stand supporting labelmates and fellow Canadians Broken Social Scene, beginning with a Jan. 20 date in Toronto.

Feist toured earlier this year in support of Bright Eyes and The Magic Numbers.

Feist's most recent album is 2004's "Let It Die," on the Arts & Crafts label. The singer began working on the songs for that album while touring in 2003.

"On odd weeks off during touring Europe with Gonzales during the winter of 02/03," the singer said in her bio, "he and I began recording some of the songs from my home demos (The Red Demos) together in Paris with Renaud Letang (Manu Chao). Later we started writing together and also tried to reinterpret some covers we loved."

A recent posting on Feist's website announced that the singer and band are working on a new, currently untitled, album for release in 2006.