Title: 11:11
Artist: Regina Spektor
Rating: 3 out of 5
Regina Spektor is a recent pop obsession of mine. I first discovered her from some radio play from her 2004 Soviet Kitsch album. Since then I have amassed all of her albums and remain a dedicated fan. 11:11 is not Regina Spektor’s strongest album, but rarely are first albums the best albums. However, it already demonstrates a strong, quirky songwriting talent and shows off her incredible vocal range.
This is certainly her jazziest album with “Rejazz”, “Marry Ann” and “Wasteland” as good example of her jazzy roots. However, the album also features early examples of her bouncy song poems that she will become famous for. Stand out tracks in this style include “Buildings” and “Sunshine”.
Her most adventurous track is the 7:43 long, sprawling “Pavlov’s Daughter” which is, at different points, a spoken work beat poem, a driving, angry piano piece and a sad, soft mournful ballad.
I still consider Soviet Kitsch as her best album (with What We Saw From The Cheap Seats climbing in my esteem), however, 11:11 is a good album for those who need some fun anti-folk to make their day a bit brighter.