Regina Spektor

What We Saw from the Cheap SeatsSire Records ***

Regina Spektor arrived in New York more than 20 years ago as a Jewish refugee from Russia. After studying classical piano, she turned towards her adopted city's hip-hop and punk scene, quickly aligning her penchant for singer-songwriters suchas Ani Di Franco and Joni Mitchell with an anti-folk attitude. In other words, Spektor blends what you might like with what you might not expect. It's a cute trick that works well on this, her sixth official studio album. Superb songs such as Small Town Moon, Firewood, Patron Saint, The Party, All the Rowboats and Open offer singer-songwriter idiosyncrasies that actually aren't at all irritating. What are we seeing from the cheap seats? Quality, that's what. reginaspektor.com

Download tracks: Small Town Moon, Firewood, All the Rowboats