Search - Regina Spektor :: Begin to Hope

Begin to Hope
Regina Spektor
Begin to Hope
Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock
 
  •  Track Listings (12) - Disc #1

Regina Spektor?s last album, 2004?s Soviet Kitsch, garnered praise from Time, Rolling Stone, Spin, Vanity Fair, The New York Times and many others. But this Russian-born, Bronx-bred singer-songwriter-pianist, who emerged f...  more »

     
   
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CD Details

All Artists: Regina Spektor
Title: Begin to Hope
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 3
Label: Sire
Original Release Date: 1/1/2006
Re-Release Date: 6/13/2006
Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock
Styles: Singer-Songwriters, Adult Alternative
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
Other Editions: Begin to Hope
UPCs: 093624411222, 093624411260

Synopsis

Album Description
Regina Spektor?s last album, 2004?s Soviet Kitsch, garnered praise from Time, Rolling Stone, Spin, Vanity Fair, The New York Times and many others. But this Russian-born, Bronx-bred singer-songwriter-pianist, who emerged from the NYC café circuit, continues to expand her vision. On Begin To Hope, produced by David Kahne (The Strokes, Sublime, Sugar Ray), she broadens here palette with electric guitar, drum machines and seductive electronic loops, finding new canvases for her provocative vocal style. Hope for pop has arrived with Regina Spektor.

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Member CD Reviews

Cameron Ashley H. from LACEY, WA
Reviewed on 2/28/2007...
I wasn't sure what to expect with this one--I had listened to a review about her..but I loved it. Very different..and fun. I could play it 4 times in a row and still work around the house.
0 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

CD Reviews

There's still hope
E. A Solinas | MD USA | 06/24/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)

"In her previous three albums, Regina Spektor specialized in quirky anti-folk. Piano, odd melodies and poetic lyrics.



But Spektor tries a new sound in her long-awaited fourth album, "Begin to Hope." Instead of anti-folk, her music here is more polished and poppier... or perhaps it's anti-pop. Either way, while this album has its middling moments, most of the songs are still Regina Spektor at her best.



It kicks off with the oddball "Fidelity," a trilling little song with the piano edged in synth. Spektor doesn't fare quite as well in the second one, which sounds too generic for her talents -- guitar pop with only a dash of piano, and only a few of her vocal flourishes.



But then the album changes, as if Spektor feels she's done enough "typical" pop. Instead she switches to the soft-edged piano melody of "Samson" ("You are my sweetest downfall"), followed by a strong string of songs that stick to her strengths: piano anti-folk (or anti-pop), and songs that don't sound like anything "On the Radio."



Instead she leans on soft piano ballads, silky piano folk and jagged little rock songs. Songs like "Edit" and "20 Years of Snow" are pure Spektor, with the cascading piano melody and the quirky singing, while "That Time" is a strange, mocking little rocker about reading Shakespeare and burying bits of a cat's body. The finale is a quiet, meditative song about loneliness in the city, and missing the one you love. For anyone who misses a lover, this will be a heart-tugger.



And the special edition has a bonus EP, perhaps for fans who adore her quirkier side. There are the bittersweet piano ballads like "Another Town" ("my soul feels so old!"), the bittersweet "Baobabs" and "Dusseldorf." And then there is quirk supreme: "Uhmerica," which has her uttering an explosive grunt through the chorus, and the kinetic weirdness of "Music Box."



Yes, the cry is that Spektor has gone commercial -- there's more guitar on this album, and little washes of synth. But the heart of her music has always been the piano, odd melodies and unusual singing -- and though this is a bit more polished than her prior work, the brilliance is still there.



And remember, the music is what we came here to hear. Once you get past the lackluster second song, Spektor's piano music is back -- she can do it slow and soft, or fast and jagged. And she's backed by some solid enough drums that get to go wild in "Hotel Song." And what about the synth? It bobbles along in the background... and actually enhances the piano.



Spektor's offbeat voice is just as versatile as her piano -- she sounds sweet in the ballads, quirky in the faster songs. She rattles off the strangely written songs ("the words float out like holograms") as she sings of loneliness, love and eating tangerines. "Be afraid of the cold/They'll inherit your blood/Apres moi, le deluge/After me comes the flood..." she croons.



Regina Spektor had a lot to live up to after the brilliance of "Soviet Kitsch," and for the most part she does. A bittersweet gem of anti-folk... and anti-pop."
Funky, Cool & Fun
Marion | Louisiana | 01/30/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't buy many CD's but I saw Regina Spektor on a morning news show recently and was mesmerized by her voice, her life and her poetry/lyrics. I tried to resist, but finally gave in and purchased this CD.



I was not disappointed! I like every song on it. It's so rare to hear a truly original soul anymore who isn't prepackaged and tied with a pretty bow by media mogols, but this CD is NOT your average music. It's funky, cool, fun and unique. Her voice is as much an instrument as her piano and she plays it with abandon.



If you march to the beat of a different drummer, you will LOVE Regina's music. I can't wait to hear more."