Regina Spektor: Far

Label: Sire

The follow-up to Regina Spektor‘s 2006 breakthrough, Begin to Hope, is every bit as gorgeous and whimsical as you’d expect. It’s no secret that she can work magic with a piano and her inimitable voice, both childlike and sultry, full of wonder and wisdom. Her miniature pop masterpieces are full of quirky surprises at every turn, whether she’s singing in made-up words (“Eet”) or dolphin sounds (“Folding Chair”), from the perspective of someone in a creepy Orwellian future (“Machine”) or to a man whose billfold she found on the street (“Wallet”). She always has a few powerful ballads up her sleeve, too, like “Laughing With,” on which she observes, “No one laughs at God in a hospital / No one laughs at God in a war.” Spektor continues to prove that she is one of the most unique and endearing songwriters out there. (Kiri)