Music to Create To - Regina Spektor :: Far

Since I gushed about Regina Spektor and my anticipation for her new release a couple weeks ago, I figured I should follow up with my thoughts now that I've actually listened to (and listened to and listened to) the album. First the good: Regina has freaking lungs. The girl can sing at any dynamic, probably in any key (ok slight exaggeration) and is flawless. She is also an incredible wordsmith and her song writing has really gone to a much deeper, introspective and meaningful place on this album. Oh, there's still the occational vocal percussion and entire chorus sung in dolphin noises, but on the whole these songs seem to have a bigger purpose than say "Sailor Song". At this point, the first single "Laughing With" is my hands down favorite track. It makes me want to cry and smile simultaneously.

The bad: And it kills me to have "the bad" to talk about, but here we go nonetheless. Regina worked with four different producers on this album, and I'm starting to think that may have contributed to the choppy feeling of the album as well as the dulling of her wonderfully quirky edge. There is a definite increase in the "popiness" of her sound and there is nothing on this album that comes close to "On the Radio" or "That Time". And I miss that weirdness. Hopefully this album will bring some new Regina fans into the fold, rack up some record sales and give her record company the cahones to let her have more control over the production next time around.

Until then, buy Far here and look out for Regina's tour dates here.

Music to Create To - Upcomming new releases that I just can't wait for!

Ask my who my top 5 musical artists are on any given day and you will probably get a different mix every time. However, there's no doubt that there are two ladies that are mainstays in that group (though their numbered positions may move a bit). And lucky for me, they both have new albums releasing this summer.
Not to be dramatic, but the music of Imogen Heap may have changed my life. I think I played her last album "Speak for Yourself" for six months straight. Then, when I saw her in concert I couldn't believe that she sounded just as good if not better, live. To this day I maintain that her concert is the best I've ever been to. It's been a long four years since that album debuted, but the wait is almost over for some new Imogen tunes. August 4th her new album "Ellipse" will be released, and I'm thinking about making a paper chain to count down the days. Keep up to speed with single and video releases at her website www.imogenheap.co.uk

The second of the "ladies" is Regina Spektor, whose new album "Far" is due to release in just a few short weeks on June 23rd. It took a while for Regina to grow on me...she has got to be one of the most quirky song writers around. But once she did, I was addicted. Sometimes I think it would be a fun creativity inducing project to try and visually interpret her songs, but then I get a headache thinking about it. Head to her myspace page here to listen to new tracks and see the video for her first single "Laughing With".
So, those are the two albums I'm eagerly anticipating this summer. I hope you'll pick them up on iTunes or wherever they're available and do something incredibly creative while listening to them!