I hate to make the too-easy Tori reference here (because, really, aside from the obvious female voice + piano, the comparison ends there) but the one real similarity is this: my reaction to Soviet Kitsch is very similar to the one I had with Little Earthquakes. I finished listening and had a feeling that I'd just heard something astounding.
Easily my favorite pop record of the year so far.
(Read another Blogcritic's views on Regina here.)
Mark Saleski is a writer and music obsessive based out of the Monadnock region of New Hampshire. He is an editor and writer for Jazz.com. He also writes reviews for Blogcritics.org and produces the weekly feature The Friday Morning Listen. …
Soviet Kitsch
Imagine a female singer-songwriter pianist for The Strokes generation. Imagine Regina Spektor, who has not only opened for The Strokes but whose major label debut album, Soviet Kitsch, was co-produced ...
The Dresden Dolls
Combine the smoky cellars of a Weimar-era cabaret with the rock n’ roll fury of Joan Jett, PJ Harvey and The Violent Femmes and you have a remote idea of what to expect when experiencing The Dresden ...
Little Earthquakes
Emotionally and musically intense, Little Earthquakes shows that the piano is as much a rock & roll instrument as the guitar. Tori Amos's debut (if one disregards Y Kant Tori Read, as one would be well ...
Article comments
1 - The Theory
i'm kind of unsure about this record right now. On one hand, I think the songs were written well... but I also feel like the arrangements are a bit sparce. I like her voice, though.
2 - Mark Saleski
i think the sparseness is part of why i liked it.
too much pop music these days is too 'full' of sound.
3 - Temple Stark
Mark, This work of art in words you have created now has another venue for success, glory and taking control of the world - and many more eyes - at the Advance.net Web sites, a place affiliated with about 10 newspapers.
One such site is here.
Also please let your contact know the review is published at one more place. That helps a lot.
Thank you.
Temple Stark
4 - shara
I'm quite sure the only Regina Spektor song I've heard is Summer in the City. I love the idea of a chair & stick as accompaniment; that alone makes me want to listen to more.
5 - Dr Dreadful
Shara, go ahead and listen: you definitely won't regret it.
I became aware of Regina Spektor through flukish luck when her song "Samson" was played at the end of a CSI: NY episode (I say flukish because I never even watch CSI: NY). I liked it so I Googled the lyrics and found out who it was, then started to check out more of her stuff.
I now own everything of hers that is available on iTunes. She's always interesting and surprising to listen to. I love the iconoclastic inventiveness of her music and her wild changes of style - she can go from classical to punk in the space of a few bars.
She doesn't fit easily into any genre or with any other artist: I've heard comparisons to Tori Amos and Fiona Apple, but they only go so far.