Begin to Hope may be nearly a year old, but I’ve been listening to it just as long. I would have (could have, should have) written this review when the album first came out, but having some time to digest these songs is a nice change from the usual, snap-of-the-fingers review, so here we go.
Regina Spektor’s music is at once an acquired taste and completely radio-friendly. She does upbeat and hopeful as easily as she does sullen and dire. Many will be quick to pin her alongside Fiona Apple and Tori Amos, and there are some obvious similarities; but it’s the differences that I like best. Spektor brings a New York/Russian quirk that cannot be found elsewhere. Her songs are stories not always rooted in real-life, and are therefore capable of taking off, becoming something much bigger than words and notes. At the same time, what she sings about is utterly human and relatable; perhaps it is the piano that grounds the songwriter and her stories.
Each of her albums—11:11 (2001), Songs (2002), Soviet Kitsch (2004)—offers something different, and Begin to Hope is no exception. This album sees: love in all its guises, orca whales and owls, found teeth, tangerines, and traces of cocaine here and there. You can watch really great videos for “Better”, “On The Radio”, and “Samson” on her MySpace, and listen to pretty much all of her music—including a 2006 Live in California EP—on her website.
As a singer, Spektor is unafraid (to use her gut, her lungs, her throat, her mouth, her tongue, her teeth and her lips). As a songwriter she is both painfully real, and playfully surreal.
Fidelity
Better
Samson
On The Radio
Field Below
Hotel Song
Apres Moi
20 Years of Snow
That Time
Edit
Lady
Summer In The City
Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
Music
| Artist | Regina Spektor |
| Label | Sire Records |
| Score |  |
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