Heads up, people. You're going to want to go pick up a copy of Regina Spektor's second album "Begin to Hope." I know, it's been out for months, but I just got around to buying it.

I have declared it good. I know you are caring so much right now. Still, what follows is my review, should you be able to sustain consciousness much longer. The only people who are not excused from reading this are two people for whom I highly recommend this record even though they might have bought it already because they are way cooler than me:
Leigh (Hey mama)
and Chris ( and that cool wife of yours, you lucky man.)

One of the joys and frustrations of trying to find new artists to love and enjoy is that first albums are often creative, fresh, and somewhat rough around the edges, which isn't always a bad thing. But if an artist attracts any substantial level of recognition, whether from the critics or the consumers, the sophomore album seems to suffer. I am convinced that this is because record labels put pressure on artists who have commercial potential to make something more "accessible," which seems to be code for "something we can play on the radio until everyone hates you and your music."

Regina Spektor's first major album "Soviet Kitsch" seemed to set her up perfectly for this. It's not radio material, but it's very smart, with simple piano-based melodies serving as the backdrop to some really great, well-written lyrics. Spektor's voice is about as unique as they come, as is the uninhibited way she uses it, with a lot of hiccups and beatboxing and talking while singing that would be ridiculous from anyone else, but that work for her. If "Soviet Kitsch" has a downfall, it's that she has a tendency to get into a kind of a stream-of-consciousness thing too much. Some songs are just too long because she's being repetitive, and it seems out of place and undisciplined on an album that is otherwise so spare and simple.
This is my only criticism is of her first album, which I loved, and which got a lot of favorable press. (I should here give a plug to the coolness of my sister, Hannah, who gave me the album for Christmas last year. I'd like to think of this as my big-sisterly investment in Hannah's early musical taste paying off for me in the form of impeccably-tasteful recommendations from her. But really, she's just cool in her own right.)

So as a fan, I'm happy to say that Regina Spektor seems to have succeeded in doing something very rare with "Begin to Hope": She's made a second album that is A) more accessible than her first one and B) better than her first one, both artistically and from a writing standpoint. I could not be happier.
It's clear from the first track that "Begin to Hope" is a very different record than "Soviet Kitsch." It's more heavily mixed, there are some killer instrumental arrangements and great bass backing up the still-prominent piano. Track two, "Better" has (gasp!) a guitar, used to good advantage, and a lot more orchestration and momentum than her early tracks.
By the third track, "Samson," we're back to a more traditional piano-and-singing Spektor song, but even this one has a touch of backup that gives the repeat phrase a really nice richness. More to her credit, she does not use her voice in a harsh way, or let the song ramble on too long. It's really just perfect. This is probably my favorite song on the whole album.
After that, there's a fantastic song called "On the Radio" --- fun, light, and, I'm sure, the song on the album destined to get some popular play. The great thing, though is that it's actually a good song.
I won't bore you with a tour of the whole album, but suffice it to say that it's a very eclectic, skillful recording with something for everyone. She even has a bluesy-type track with "Lady." There are still those odd moments of trademark Regina Spektor when the eccentricity can throw you the first couple of times. But overall, it's a fantastic album, worth listening to when you've got time to really enjoy it.

I'll get back to blogging about things people actually care about soon.