Regina Spektor’s voice always has had a large range, and she uses it to its full potential in her new album, “What We Saw From Cheap Seats.”
It includes songs that are not like Spektor’s style, but undoubtedly sound like Regina. She even uses accents. In “Oh Marcello” Spektor uses an Italian accent in the beginning while talking.
This album is less acoustic and dry than her others and includes other instruments, such as the trumpet, and most her songs now have more bass than before. “Small Town Moon” seems to start off like a ballard, similar to most of her other songs, only for the chorus to start edging closer to rock.Spektor includes a cover of “Ne me quitte pas (Don’t leave me),” originally sung by Jacques Brel in 1959. Compared to the first, her cover is more upbeat with a variety of instruments, while the original is more solemn.
As always her songs are quirky and at times don’t make much sense from a literal standpoint. It’s understandable when she says that lyrics just come to her, without much thought.
“I’ve always loved Regina,” Barbara Sank said. “Her music really touches me and inspires me in so many ways.”
One of her top songs, “All The Rowboats” demonstrates the transition that Spektor has made throughout her music. Darker and richer, this song floats together effortlessly, at times with heavy drums and then verses containing just her voice and the piano.
“Firewood” features a piano ranging through different notes with a slow, grave sound. The lyrics show that the song is optimistic, yet realistic at the same time: “Love what you have and you’ll have more/You’re not dying/ Everyone knows you’re going to love/ though there’s no cure for crying”.
It’s obvious a lot of these songs are going to be possible radio hits, and although a previous album “Begin to hope” was heavier, intense and emotional, this album seems to be a little lighter and leans more toward pop.
“I really enjoy this album,” Karen Williams said. “Her new single, ‘All Of The Rowboats’ is definitely one of my favorites and I can never get it out of my head.”
