Regina Spektor - Somedays
There is so much complicated music out there to listen to. We are constantly inundated with ringtones, noises, blaring car horns, the bass bumping out of the back end of your jeep. Every now and again, in the midst of the hustle and bustle, an artist comes along who, in spite of the streetcars and the taxi rivers that surround them, is unafraid to let herself be simple. Regina Spektor, classically-trained pianist and gentle impresario of New York City's richly-textured music scene, doesn't have any fear to be different. Because of where she got her start, I think Regina has been incorrectly placed in the category of "antifolk". But her music differs frequently from those in the genre to which she has been placed. Her voice, not unlike her music, is equal parts Ella Fitzgerald and Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell and Billie Holliday. On the recently re-released Soviet Kitsch, this Russian-born chanteuse brings an unfettered tin pan alley of lilting harmonies, clever lyrics, against-the-grain meters and a cacophony of austere, stark portraits of young womanhood. She cuts loose with a little bit of punk rock on this record, but reading in-between the lines is crucial to allowing her into your heart. The album primarily features spare instrumentation (frequently merely Regina singing with piano) and a subtle kinship in its characters that evokes visions of a latter-day Cosette from Les Miserables, all grown up and fending off the advances of Marius. Regina seems to me, on this album, much like Cosette herself; at once impulsive and untamed, wayward, fickle, standing in a bar on the Lower East Side enticing young men and turning them away with equal fervor. Regina plays on the themes of the dreams that light the eyes of the girl in search of playful shadows that will dance with her. There is so much to adore in this record; it shows the great promise of a songstress unafraid to discover herself in the public's eye. Please keep your eyes peeled for my interview with Regina, which will be available soon.
BONUS TRACK: The Ghost of Corporate Future
Click here to purchase more Regina Spektor tracks from iTunes.
