Far By Regina Spektor

On her highly acclaimed new album “Far” Regina Spektor paints beautiful images with just a few well-chosen words and beats from the piano, making the whole album an exercise in story-telling magic. It’s been three years since pop culture has heard anything from the Russian-born singer and it seems she’s spent this time crafting inane lyrical tales of everyday life with a powerhouse team of producers to finally bring us “Far.”

The album opens with “The Calculation,” a bouncing track with a chorus that does well to showcase Spektor’s vibrato vocals as they dance their way through this top tune. She slows the pace down on the next track, “Eet,” which gets its start from the shock you feel when suddenly forgetting the words to your favorite song. This song, along with “Wallet” and “Human Of The Year,” showcases how Spektor seemingly manages to create mesmerizing music out of the most mundane daily events.

She has more intense moments though, like on the first single “Laughing With,” which is a reflection upon a personal philosophy akin to Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic,” and talks about the moment people do or don’t laugh along with God (For a laugh of your own, listen to Spektor’s imitation of a dolphin on “Folding Chair”).

Spektor worked with four renowned producers to make the record, all of which come from in different music genres (with artists the likes of Eminem, Weezer and ELO), giving the album the possibility of sounding like one big production argument, but luckily it segues very nicely from each style to the next; from the meek tune “Folding Chair” to the futuristic “Machines,” and from the bouncy “Dance Anthem of the ‘80s” to the intimate and down-tempo “Genius Next Door.”

Overall Spektor has produced some light, easy-to-listen-to pop fare that is perfectly suited to lazy days in the park or an afternoon on the beach. It’s highly enjoyable and it musically sets her in good stead as she seeks to establish herself as a master songwriter, no matter who she’s working with or what she’s writing about.