Regina Spektor
Begin to Hope
Sire Records (2006)

Some likened Regina Spektor’s previous work and success as an anomaly—cutesy music from a cutesy girl, a shiny new thing that would lose its appeal all too quickly once the “Next Big Thing� luster went bust. And ya know, who could blame them? Her last album IS titled Soviet Kitsch, after all. Well, tell them haters to shove it because Begin to Hope is auditory divinity.

The kookiness is still there, but Spektor has made it much more endearing, her lilting vocals sailing over punchy piano pieces, simple drumbeats and the occasional cameo from a backing band. “Better,� a series of coquettish conditionals, gets the album started proper, and “On the Radio� is curious and uplifting, a welcome change to the many pop songstresses out there who think they have to sing “sad� (and typically lyrically empty) songs to be taken seriously.

This isn’t to say she’s pitch perfect here. “That Time� does a superb job of making you sentimental over your own set of funny memories until Spektor asks “Remember that time you OD’ed?,� which left me feeling panicky, then cheated from some silly and overtly “bizarre� wordplay. Still, Spektor shows some range on her first major label effort, and that’s something to believe in. As she sings in “Hotel Song,� “Come into my world.� Begin to Hope is reason enough to do just that.

1 Comments

June 19, 2006 10:42 PM

[0+]  betsy said:

love her!

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