Don't Laugh At Regina Spector

Regina Spektor is very, as the Rolling Stone magazine calls her, weird. Her latest album Far, a Billboard chart topper, is yet another reminder of how really weird the songwriter-singer can get. From her skepticism towards those cynical towards God in Laughing With to her ideas on what men and women want in Dance Anthem of The 80's, one never knows what she'll say next, or, for that matter, what she herself believes.

The singer, a Soviet born, is known for her anti-folk and anti-pop tunes. And does she go anti when she wants to! Far is a psychedelic, for lack of a better word, collection of 15 out-of-the-way songs-all written, composed, and sung by Spektor herself. Of course, a singer of Spektor's fame wouldn't want to stay inside the boundaries of limited understanding, so be prepared to hear catchy tunes with hip lyrics that don't, umm, really mean anything.

Spektor takes incoherence into new heights with this album. Folding Chairs devolves into dolphin noises, voiced by her, towards the end. Nothing of this is new for Spektor, of course, who has taken to beating chairs with drumsticks while playing the piano onstage during concerts. And that's another part of Spektor: the classical piano. Being a Russian-born Jew in New York, with a photographer father who was also an amateur violinist and a mother who taught music in school, classical music came as a heritage to her.

All reviews of Far can interestingly be divided into two categories: those written by men that call Spektor 'quirky' and 'weird', and the ones that call her 'cute', mostly written by women. Spektor is all of these, although her cuteness and quirks do not but compliment her artistic sense. The adaptive voice that she employs in most of her tracks obviously wants to overcome language through different accents and animal-impressions, and she has said she will probably learn a few languages for her next album. Wallet brings a unique twist to honesty, where Spektor sings about the simple act of returning a wallet to its rightful owner.

The album has been produced by four different individuals, each bringing their unique style to Spektor's vocals. Working with many producers gave her a chance to try untested compositions and experiment with non-sequential tracks. The tracks in the album have no cohesion, and there isn't a need for one as well. She wanted contrast in her album and she gets it done very well. Despite being a jumble of different sub-genres and styles, the album is not unkind to the ears.

All the tracks in the album are catchy, and the lyrics are thoughtful; though, at times, the lines end up being so philosophical that they don't make much sense. The entire experience is something new, though. Spektor has conceded that people sometimes think of her as 'kooky and crazy' and laugh at her, because she has a 'different voice'.

With this album, Spektor has moved from the popularity of the fringes to mainstream success without losing her special touch, thanks chiefly to one of her producers Jeff Lynne (who also produced Elton John and three of the Beatles). This major starlet will truly become a star when she finds a way to be more acceptable without letting go of what made her likeably different.