Regina Spektor returns on Tuesday with “Far,” the follow-up to “Begin to Hope,” a gold album that edged into the Billboard top 20.
TRIVIA: “Far” was produced by Garret “Jacknife” Lee (U2, R.E.M., Weezer) and Electric Light Orchestra frontman Jeff Lynne, among others.
STANDOUT: “Folding Chair,” a buoyant pop song, begins with an endearing proposition: “Let’s get a silver bullet trailer and have a baby boy.” It also includes the type of oddball moment Spektor devotees love, as the singer imitates a dolphin.
FANS DIG: Russians
ANDY SAYS: Spektor’s latest is among her most polished efforts yet, dolphin imitations aside. The hit-making producers do their jobs well on songs such as “The Calculation” and “One More Time with Feeling,” while Spektor avoids sanding away at her darkly cute appeal.
GRADE: B-plus
“Dragonslayer,” Sunset Rubdown
WHY CARE: Spencer Krug, a member of the Sub Pop Records band Wolf Parade, releases his third album as Sunset Rubdown.
TRIVIA: This group began as a solo outlet for Krug but has grown into a five-piece band.
STANDOUT: A meaty guitar riff anchors the lyrically abstract “Idiot Heart.”
FANS DIG: Side projects
ANDY SAYS: Let’s set aside the fact that Krug has one of rock’s better voices — that he sounds like a demented David Bowie. Are the songs good nonetheless? Maybe, a bit. Krug tends to meander. Songs run 6-minutes long on average, and aren’t built with the same intricate design of his vocals.
GRADE: B-minus
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com
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