by Marcella Ortega
Daily Lobo
There is nothing better than finding something different.
The first time I heard Regina Spektor was on a song titled "Modern Girls & Old Fashioned Men" by the Strokes. In the duet with Julian Casablanca, she sounds like a jazz singer out of the 1930s. I had to know who she was. I found that she is not just a jazz singer - she created a sound through a combination of genres.
Begin to Hope is Spektor's second album released through a major record label. Although it has a more polished sound than her previous releases, Spektor maintains her distinctive approach to song writing.
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Known for giving each song its own musical style, Spektor displays her diverse influences which include jazz, classical, Russian music and hip-hop. Spektor's voice can be described as a combination of Billie Holiday, Fiona Apple and Norah Jones.
The track "Field Below" exposes the listener to her jazz style as she soulfully belts out a mellow heavy-hearted ballad about loss. She manages to avoid sappiness by using metaphors about a field of snow describing dark shadows as ancient bruises. "Apräs Moi" is another piano-based song. It creates intensity through the steady pounding of the keys combined with Spektor's powerful, yet shaky vocals.
Spektor turns from jazz to a style closer to hip-hop in the track "Hotel Song." Her voice is less sultry and far lighter, sounding more like a modern Billie Holiday with a beat-box as she uses "ah-ah-ah" sounds in the background.
Spektor displays a similar style in the track "Fidelity." Its appeal is in both the verses and the chorus. It starts with a steady hip-hop beat and speeds into the chorus as she draws out a single lyric into its own verse with more Holiday-like rapid airy high notes. This one will get stuck in your head.
Spektor not only graces her listeners with a fusion of various styles in her music, but her lyrics are something to be mentioned as well. In many of her tracks, she uses literary references in her poetic-style lyrics. The track "Samson" makes reference to the biblical character. She uses Samson as a metaphor for her love interest with the lyrics, "Your hair was long when we first met," and later, "Oh, I cut his hair myself one night."
Overall, the album does well in reaching a wide audience. Because of Spektor's unique sound, it could easily be enjoyed by jazz or hip-hop fans. For the music fan in search of a new sound, Begin to Hope is a breath of fresh air.
