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Begin To Hope
by Regina Spektor

Regina Spektor reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 80 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.0 out of 10
based on 29 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 45 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

The Russia-born, New York-based anti-folkie returns with a dozen new tracks produced by David Kahne (The Strokes).

LABEL: Sire
RELEASE DATE: 13 June 2006
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Indie, Rock, Singer-Songwriter

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

91
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Even in its darkest moments, a humane glow envelops the album, which takes her already-arresting sound and expands it to widescreen.
Read Full Review
90
PopMatters
With a new album of expertly-crafted, touching, and refreshingly honest odes to life, Regina Spektor has grown without growing away from what makes her so special.
Read Full Review
90
Neumu.net
If naysayers can't get past the sheen of spiced-up production, it's their loss.
Read Full Review
83
E! Online
Her vocal quirks can take some getting used to, but the oblique melodies and cosmic lyrics in songs such as "On the Radio" and "20 Years of Snow" demonstrate what a remarkable talent is mixed in with all the idiosyncrasies.
Read Full Review
83
Entertainment Weekly
She displays a range fans old and new will find intoxicating. [16 Jun 2006, p.75]
80
Amazon.com
It's a consistently intelligent and daring record, yet remains enormously listenable.
Read Full Review
80
Slant Magazine
There's a fearless, uninhibited confidence to Spektor's voice, not to mention a delightful whimsy to her music, that sets her apart from artists like [Fiona] Apple.
Read Full Review
80
Blender
Tighter and freakier than her debut. [Jul 2006, p.102]
80
The Guardian
Spektor's first major-label release sets her up as a serious rival for [Tori] Amos's queen-of-whimsy title.
Read Full Review
80
Dot Music
It's an easier listen than its wildly imaginative predecessor.
Read Full Review
80
Alternative Press
Did we say "hard to resist?" Make that "impossible." [Aug 2006, p.224]
80
Uncut
Spektor's biggest-hearted, clearest-minded effort yet--achieved, thankfully, without sacrificing any of her wonderful weirdness. [Aug 2006, p.111]
80
Mojo
Spektor has lept from black and white into joyous colour. [Aug 2006, p.88]
80
New Musical Express
'Begin To Hope' is the sound of [Spektor] blossoming into the most talented female artist around--and one with edge. [8 Jul 2006, p.43]
80
All Music Guide
The album feels like getting to really know someone: at first, it's polite and a little restrained, but then its real personality, with all of its charming idiosyncrasies, finally reveals itself.
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80
Spin
As addictive as ice-cream dots. [Jul 2006, p.88]
75
Stylus Magazine
A little bit of kitsch is important... Begin to Hope has enough of it to stand out, and enough ethics to keep the whole thing grounded.
Read Full Review
75
The Phoenix
Always ambitious, occasionally experimental, and sometimes even radio-friendly.
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75
Pitchfork
On the whole her performance throughout Begin to Hope exhibits new levels of control and direction, reaching a point where the song and the singing are inseparable.
Read Full Review
70
The New York Times
The songs are pretty on first listening, and some of Ms. Spektor's straightforward love songs, like "Fidelity" and "Field Below," reveal a gorgeously unguarded yearning. But she doesn't hide her quirks elsewhere.
Read Full Review
70
BBC collective
A complex yet controlled fourth album of astonishing beauty and perfect strangeness.
Read Full Review
70
Rolling Stone
Less miserable than Fiona Apple, less wacky than Nellie McKay and less hippieish than Tori Amos, Spektor shows off her gorgeous, fluttery voice, her burgeoning writer chops and her God-given quirks on [Begin to Hope].
Read Full Review
70
Paste Magazine
As elegant as it is addictive. [Jun/Jul 2006, p.131]
70
Prefix Magazine
Begin to Hope has its highs and lows, but it is a journey worth taking.
Read Full Review
70
Drowned In Sound
If the elitist few who hold Regina almost too close to their bosom can get past the shiny façade of the first few tracks, they'll find a whole new Regina to love.
Read Full Review
66
cokemachineglow
The album's substance is obscured by the distracting presence of its production.
Read Full Review
60
Q Magazine
[She] remains comically kooky. [Aug 2006, p.116]
60
Under The Radar
The problems are not Spektor's songwriting or singing or playing... but they are equally underemphasized and poorly recorded. [#13, p.88]
40
NOW Magazine
As if the synthesized strings and electronic dabbling weren't sad enough, [Spektor's] ascerbic voice has been all but lost in squishy couplets about making things better and needing to "know you."
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 45 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Ronnie M gave it a10:
A wondeful album!

Epic gave it a10:
The best record of 06! I love this album!

Roco gave it a10:
A brilliant musical achievement. Beautiful songwriting and great, great songs. One of the best albums of 06, by far!

Slay D gave it a10:
A fine album, wonderfully put together. Regina is one of the best musicians right now in music.

Dontrelle M gave it a10:
One of my personal favorites. Gets better and better the more you listen to it.

D Bag gave it a10:
Such a lovely, wonderful album by Regina. Beautiful gem and one of the best all around records of 2006. This is a must buy!!

JP gave it a9:
One of my favorite albums of the year. There's only one song that I skip over "Field Below"- it's not that it's a bad song, it just gets repetitive. I was worried that the transition from piano to pop would be awkward, but she pulled it off with charm! I like this album just as much as I liked Soviet Kitsch, maybe even better.

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