LAST time she called her fifth studio album ‘far’, so does What We Saw From The Cheap Seats bring you any closer to Regina Spektor?
No. She remains a showgirl act, a cabaret artiste, pitched somewhere between fellow piano-playing singer-songwriter Tori Amos and Icelandic curio Bjork in her It’s Oh So Quiet novelty mode.
Reuniting with Eminem producer Mike Elizondo in Los Angeles last summer, she worked up these 11 songs over eight weeks, recorded live with Spektor on piano and vocals, and there is a finesse to them, to the point where quirkiness and kookiness is detrimental, taking over from her natural playfulness and effervescent spirit.
She is at her best when playing it straight on Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas), and the sense of surprise that once marked her work has now worn away through familiarity.
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