Regina Spektor may be the cutest person ever.

I guess that’s not really relevant to her musical prowess, but I thought it was a fact to be touched on.

As many of you know, Regina Spektor released a new album, Far, not so long ago. I, of course, bought it. I even went crazy and bought the version with a DVD of music videos and two bonus songs.

That’s how excited I was.

I guess I should preface this with my opinion on Regina Spektor’s younger days of music makery, as everyone else feels the need to compare new Regina to old Regina.

11:11 is too crazy for me. I know, I’m a heretic. “Buildings” is pretty fabulous, but outside of that song i find the whole album to be so quirky as to almost be abrasive. It’s intrusive.

With that confession out of the way, I feel free as a bird and can forge ahead.

“Soviet Kitsch” saw, for me, a proper ratio of goofiness to amazing musical ability. “Begin to Hope” saw less goofiness, but there was just so much brilliant pop undertoneage. Once again label me a sinner and a heretic, but I think “Begin to Hope” may be the best alt-pop album. I don’t know if alt-pop exists properly, and I don’t want to google it lest it made me change my mind.

But, onto “Far”.

It’s…interesting. I feel as if both “Soviet Kitsch” and “Begin to Hope” had an overall feel to the album. Not so with “Far”. It switches around a tidge.

This album features many classical piano-heavy songs with a slow(ish) tempo. “Après Moi” comes to mind, though I feel as if that song did it way way better. For my taste, too many songs sound classically composed in some manner. They’re certainly not bad, they are perhaps just not my cup of tea. For example, I rated 7 songs from my 16 song CD as 3.5 stars. Just below something i would want to listen to often.

While an amount of the album doesn’t stand out to me personally, the songs she does do well (in my opinion) she does extremely well.

[Editor's note: None of the songs from "Far" are listed on last.fm so we have no links available for preview purposes.]

“Folding Chair” is just fantastic. When she mimics “the dolphins’ song” I giggle. It’s too lovely. I can personally attest that this song is perfect to dance to while making dinner on vacation at the beach.

“Dance Anthem of the 80’s” first struck me as a little hokey. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It’s cute. It’s goofy. It’s not, at all, hokey. It contains the most perfect bridge music has ever tasted, as well. As I generally think bridges detract from music and ought to just be left behind for the wolves, this is a feat. I love that bridge so much.

“The Calculation” sounds to me like it belongs on “Begin to Hope”. It’s clean, not that goofy, and super cute. It made me think this whole album would be like “Begin to Hope” part two.

There are some other keepers on the album. There are 6 other tracks on the album that i rated somewhere between a 4 star and a 5 star – the album is more than worth a peak, especially from a seasoned Regina-appreciator.

What to Expect?

Regina. She’s cute. She’s awesome. and she’s wicked talented.

What to take Away?

With this album, there’s no denying she’s good. It’s more a matter of your tastebuds how you’ll feel when the album stops spinning.

What Drink to Pair it With?

A glass of 2007 Helfrich Gewürztraminer. A lovely, spicey, vibrant red wine.

Favorite Song?

I think it comes down to “Folding Chair”. It’s just too good, though it only beats out “Dance Anthem of the 80’s” by a hair.

I first encountered Empire of the Sun before the release of their album “Walking On a Dream.” Some of their earlier material made its way to last.fm and a consequential “suggested band” notice brought me to listen to “Walking On a Dream” (the song). It was catchy. It had falsetto. The singers sported ludicrous costumes. They practically channel MGMT (careful – the landing page for their site is a bit of a mind-fuck) – how could I refuse?

Please note that I take some pride in the fact that I just managed to piss every Empire of the Sun über-fan off. The vehement cries of “they aren’t MGMT!” echo across the internet with such force that I almost believe them… Almost. But the style and pretty much everything else are just entirely too similar to dispel all comparisons, and MGMT was here first. Nice try though.

I like glam artists. Yes, the bulk of them are crazy and more often than not the music itself seems to suffer as a result of a focus on the visual elements of the performance, but the scene still manages to produce some of the best songs in terms of creativity and emotional appeal. Empire of the Sun managed to get four together.

The first four songs of the album are dynamite, and then, suddenly, everything becomes underwhelming for me. The tunes that for the first 15 minutes inspired so much affinity morph into the sonic equivalent of a black dwarf – a star too weak to produce significant heat or light. They just fail to impress after such a promising opening – a sad and unfortunate occurrence since the album clearly shows a lot of potential but simply doesn’t find a way to follow through.

I know there are those who would disagree with me (the same people who would lynch me for the aforementioned MGMT reference), but I just fail to see the genius carry into “Delta Bay” and beyond. Fischerspooner managed to do much the same thing with their album “#1” – “Emerge” was the only song on the entire thing to move me in any significant way (and I loved it), but they couldn’t duplicate the success anywhere else.

With all this said, the first four tracks for Empire of the Sun are grand and definitely worth a listen. In fact, listen to the whole thing and form an opinion for yourself (as you always should). Just don’t be surprised when after a rousing (if not somehow sad) “We Are the People” you suddenly notice that your mind has wandered off and is currently pondering when recycle is collected next.

What to take away…

Empire of the Sun’s “Walking On a Dream” album is a promising start for the group, but we certainly hope their next release manages to hold our attention much longer. Despite our dissapointment however, “Standing On the Shore,” “Walking On a Dream,” “Half Mast,” and “We Are the People” are outstanding tracks in need of listening.

What should you expect?

Visual artistry and poppy electronic songs that will cleverly lure you in and then proceed to bore you for two thirds of the play time.

What drink would Empire of the Sun pair with?

An appletini. I think the color and presentation are key.

Favorite song?

I waffle between “Walking On a Dream” and “We Are the People” – it depends on my mood as “We Are the People” has some sad undercurrents that are hard to identify.

It’s always sobering to hear a band for the first time and think you’ve uncovered this new gem only to discover that not only are they far from new but also prolific with thousands of fans and millions of plays.

That’s what happened with Metric.

The quasi-grunge-alternative-rock group first came onto my radar through – you guessed it – Pandora. “Dead Disco” was the title of the catchy track paired for the radio station I had created (I don’t recall what exactly the station was). “Brilliant!” I exclaimed to myself in the dark of my apartment – it was late and I hadn’t bothered to turn on lights. “Surely this is the new Garbage.” I happily crooned as I maneuvered to last.fm (still distraught that Garbage had disbanded).

Twenty million plays… Bugger. Not as fresh as I’d thought.

I guess the sense of loss, if you could call it that, was not particularly substantive since I still really liked the band and affinity can’t be diminished by the number of plays a group has, but it did manage to raise the question: “How did I not know about this group for the last decade?” I can take some solace in the fact that of the millions of artists on this planet the chances of me encountering even a slim fraction of them are limited – after all, how much variety can a person digest over the course of a normal lifetime? One would of course hope for a lot, but still there are big fish that slip through the net and it boggles my tiny mind.

Metric was admittedly not the direct Garbage scion that I had initially presumed it to be (the comparison was made after listening to only a few select songs), but it was close. Emily Haines uses her seductive, smoky vocals to the same effect as Garbage’s Shirley Manson, albeit to less sensual music. Metric, however, is a constantly changing beast.

I acquired their most recent album, “Fantasies,” and had a listen. The tone is somewhat industrial and a bit dark despite bright overtones… Maybe “encapsulated sadness” would be a good way to put it? The lyrics are catchy and the rhythms memorable and addicting, but “Fantasies” isn’t like their other material – it’s evolved.

I will admit that my exposure to their older works is limited (I hope to remedy that), but from what I can tell the group has progressed steadily from slower more indie/experimental music to – as one commenter on last.fm remarked – “busier” rock-infused sound. Not a bad progression if I do say so myself. In fact, the reason I purchased “Fantasies” over the other albums available was because I liked the more rock inspired feeling, and the harder the beats, the more feeling Emily seems to be able to put into the piece.

This is of course a first-thoughts piece that I will follow up on when I listen to more of there older work. In the mean time however, if you’ve never heard of Metric you should definitely look them up because they’ve already found a niche in my heart.

What to take away…

Metric is an evolving sound that currently sits somewhere around alternative rock. Check out their older stuff for softer tones that are equally as good as their modern pieces (if not different) and to analyze the transition for yourself.

What should you expect?

The feeling is almost-but-not-quite grungy, but expect beats that keep your head bopping if no other part of your body can find a reason to dance.

What to pair them with?

The modern stuff just seems too industrial to me for cocktails. I feel whiskey on the rocks although I’m not entirely sure why…

Favorite song?

“Help I’m Alive” is likely my favorite – it’s a bit experimental and opens with one of the best sequences I’ve ever encountered in music. “Gimme Sympathy,” however, is a close second with more of a pop feel to it.