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A veteran of New York's anti-folk scene, songwriter Regina Spektor makes quirky, highly eclectic, but always personal music. Born and raised in Moscow until age nine, Spektor listened to her father's bootleg tapes of Western pop and rock as a young child and also learned to play piano. She and her family moved from Russia to the Bronx, where she was immersed in American culture (at the time, hers was the first Russian family in the borough in 20 years). Eventually, Spektor and her family became part of a community that balanced her Russian Jewish roots with her new home's culture. Meanwhile, she continued to practice piano anywhere she could, including at her synagogue, until her family got a piano of their own.
Spektor further developed her classical piano training by attending the SUNY Purchase Music Conservatory. During her studies, she was exposed to blues and jazz artists, including Billie Holiday. These sounds made such an impact on Spektor that they became a big part of her self-released 2001 debut album, 11:11. At the same time, she was also playing gigs anywhere she could in the city, in venues ranging from basements to parties to comedy clubs. On the strength of her frequent performances and another self-released album, 2002's Songs, Spektor developed a following that included Alan Bezozi, They Might Be Giants' drummer. He introduced Spektor to the Strokes' producer, Gordon Raphael, and both worked with Spektor on her third album, Soviet Kitsch, in both New York and London (where she collaborated with the band Kill Kenada). Soviet Kitsch was initially self-released like her other work, but it eventually found a wider release with Sire Records.
Tours with the Strokes, Kings of Leon, Mates of State, and the Moldy Peaches' Kimya Dawson further raised Spektor's profile. She also toured the U.K., where the success of "Us" as a European single led to the release of the CD/DVD retrospective Mary Ann Meets the Gravediggers and Other Short Stories early in 2006. That summer, Begin to Hope, her first album of original material for Sire, arrived. Begin to Hope enjoyed popularity on both sides of the Atlantic and went gold in America, where it also cracked the Top 20. After taking several years to tour and compose new material, Spektor returned in 2009 with Far.
- Heather Phares, All Music Guide
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14 reviews
I had the fortunate/unfortunate luck of discovering Regina Spektor early... before "Soviet Kitsch" was *officially* released, before the "Us" video soldified the star that would be.
It's a weird thing... seeing her live. Short set, awkward posture, coy laugh, just her and a piano. A crowd of however many people the Warfield holds. She seemed so out of place... like her audience is already outgrowing her. But hark! A white light beaming down on stage, getting bigger and bigger, a small voice chiming "Hallelujah!", an audience mesmerized... And maybe she was always a star, and he audience is just finally growing into her.
All things said... she's one of the most idiosyncratic and brilliant songwriters since Jacques Brel, which may not be entirely accidental. She's just a small Russian girl, afterall... but her head always seems to deliberately be in the clouds... like if a normal word comes out of her mouth then she'll crumble. Weird for the sake of weird, but with a very poetic motive.
"Songs" is one of the best albums ever. That version of "Samson" has broken many hearts, I'm sure. "Reading Time with Pickle" and "Consequence of Sounds" are brilliant. "Lulliby" is beautiful.
"Soviet Kitsch" is the album that made her a hipster staple, and take that for what you wish. But the power of songs like "Carbon Monoxide" and "Ghost of Corporate Future", and the deliberately juvenile pomp of "Us", is astounding.
"Begin to Hope" is the real break-through... the pop star in the making, but with apocalyptic love songs and some of the most idiosyncratic character studies this side of Bob Dylan. "20 Years of Snow" is too much to not feel, and "On the Radio" should be listened to in moderation, lest all mankind fall in love with each other and die of the ensuing heart attack.
I love Regina Spektor. Here's hoping her audience grows into her before they grow out of her! And OMG she's SOOOOOOOO PRETTY!!!