Listening to Regina Spektor is the musical equivalent of watching synapses firing like lightning in the brain. Jumping to and fro, in both place and thought, is the nature of Spektor’s fifth album far. She’s more than a musician, she’s an imaginative storyteller.
In her indie pop style, Spektor incorporates a mash-up of sounds and genres. Reggae, classical, cabaret, and blues all take a note of two on this record. As her fingers prance away on the piano in “Blue Lips,” Coldplay’s Chris Martin came to mind. Strong resemblances to Björk’s halting vocals and trip hop undertones appear in “Machine” (It is interesting to note that Specktor used David Byrne’s Playing the Building instalment to create some of the sounds on this track).
Spektor romanticizes the most ordinary events; finding a lost wallet becomes a short-lived adventure in mystery. Sitting on the beach with a lover takes her thoughts to the unseen future. Seeing beyond the scene at a dance club, she captures the essence of a generation. It’s all very observational – like finding meaning and depth in a sound, movement, or smell.
Spektor creates a symphony with her mouth. Contorting and experimenting with her own vocals like an instrument, the musical accompaniment seems to play a fun game of tag with her diverse cadences. She really does perform quite a strenuous routine with her vocals in “Dance Anthem Of The 80s.” While combining the diversity of her talents with the complexities of strings and band instruments, far proves to be wonderfully intricate while still maintaining a light and airy mood.
Reflection is the deep root of this album, branching out and up into ethereal sensations of calm, joy, and boundless freedom. There is whimsy and spirit in Regina Spektor’s music that radiates a true brightness, like sunshine.
Track Listing:
1. The Calculation
2. Eet
3. Blue Lips
4. Folding Chair
5. Machine
6. Laughing With
7. Human Of The Year
8. Two Birds
9. Dance Anthem Of The 80’s
10. Genius Next Door
11. Wallet
12. One More Time With Feeling
13. Man Of A Thousand Faces
