Eet - Regina Spektor Single Review

Regina Spektor

Photo: Shervin Lainez link

Single Review

Regina Spektor, a Moscow born, New Yorker by way of Austria, Italy and even Tottenham! is somewhat of a musical anomaly to me. After relative success with her previous album 'Begin To Hope', some much deserved radio air play for singles like 'Fidelity' and 'On The Radio', building on from last year's festival triumphs and some great exposure for her newer work you would think that Regina would be huge. She's attractive, quirky, can be very comical in her lyrical turn of phrase and is as radio friendly as you can get whilst still maintaining an edge and an air of 'cool' to go with it. She's not in your face at every opportunity like say 'Lady GaGa' and she's not gone back to the eighties to discover 'her sound'. What she does do though with extraordinary talent, and it would seem consummate ease, is to produce tremendously catchy, somewhat left of centre, pop songs.

'Eet' is no exception. Released from her highly acclaimed 'Far' album it is by no means the best track on there but it is still of a very high calibre indeed. It contains all of Regina's trade marks, a well written, classically structured song, great melodies, a looping piano and her distinctive, slightly affected not sure if it's posh or peculiar vocal delivery. There are the deeply brooding quieter moments where Regina will sing just to you to emphasise her point, building into crescendos of piano and drum accompanied high pitched chorus.

If you'd never heard another Regina track you'd no doubt think this a fantastic introduction, and thus a means by which you may begin to access some of her other fabulous work. If, more likely, you are already familiar with her this will only serve to try and maintain her in the public consciousness and maintain a radio presence so as little Britain can 'get her' and begin to afford her the success her songs deserve. Although this review was not typed on a computer made of macaroni pieces I am eternally grateful that Regina continues to bestow upon us her individual take on the world.

Andrew Lockwood