Regina Spektor - Far

Listening to Regina Spektor is like living in the Pink Batts ad - you know, the one where everyone walks around with a fluffy pink monster hugging them all day?

Her music is comforting. Like a perpetual hug.

Don't believe me? Try listening to it on your way to work. Your mood will instantly improve.

How can you not smile when someone is singing about making a computer out of macaroni?

Spektor's music is not for everyone. Some will find her warbling lilt and twee pop too saccharine. But for those who had her earlier efforts

Soviet Kitsch

and

Begin to Hope

on high rotate, the love affair continues on

Far

.

Spektor's ability to make melancholy joyful, and happiness bittersweet, is unparalleled. As is her propensity to talk complete nonsense and make obscure noises. On

Folding Chair

, a simple nursery rhyme melody turns into a bizarre maritime tribute as Spektor does her best dolphin impression.

Yes, the woman is mad. Bat-shit crazy. But thoroughly irresistible.

As she weaves classical piano compositions and deep, trembling basslines with contemporary pop tunes and her trademark vocal flips, Spektor shows a depth of talent and musical appreciation that outshines any of her contemporaries.

From the cheeky bounce of

The Calculation

to the epic swell and explosion of

Two Birds

and on to the haunting coo of

Genius Next Door

,

Far

is classic Spektor. An utter delight.

Joanna Hunkin