r-e-s-p-e-k-t her.

regina spektor: begin to hope.

a few years ago, following a visit to a certain SUNY school in the middle of nowhere, a friend of mine slipped a rather bland looking cd into my overnight bag, insisting i listen, as this particular alum put all other folk femmes to shame. sure enough, my entire car full of friends and i all fell pretty immediately in love with the spoken-word, rap, folk, rock ramblings of the lovely and then unknown regina spektor. since then, spektor has gone on to release the acclaimed soviet kitsch, which landed her an unlikely gig touring with the strokes.

if you’re new to the sounds of spektor, imagine a recipe which calls for two cups fionna apple, two cups ani difranco, one cup tori amos, and a sprinkling of imogen heap. now glaze with honey and leave to cool on your brooklyn fire escape. but if you’re already familiar, then you’ll note that her first release since her seemingly overnight success plays it safe. sure “begin to hope” shows growth and promise and all that good stuff. however, along with that progression, her previously untouched charms have been tampered with, muddled by grunge-drenched bass lines, and drowned in moments of pop/rock fluff. but hey, maturity is awkward like that sometimes. fortunately, spektor remains innovative enough to see her through her mild growing pains.

tracks to respect: samson, fidelity, better, après moi.

play spektris, not tetris: http://www.reginaspektor.com/