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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.

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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.

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Neumu.net

If naysayers can't get past the sheen of spiced-up production, it's their loss.

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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.

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Entertainment Weekly

She displays a range fans old and new will find intoxicating. [16 Jun 2006, p.75]

Amazon.com

It's a consistently intelligent and daring record, yet remains enormously listenable.

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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.

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Blender

Tighter and freakier than her debut. [Jul 2006, p.102]

The Guardian

Spektor's first major-label release sets her up as a serious rival for [Tori] Amos's queen-of-whimsy title.

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Dot Music

It's an easier listen than its wildly imaginative predecessor.

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Alternative Press

Did we say "hard to resist?" Make that "impossible." [Aug 2006, p.224]

Uncut

Spektor's biggest-hearted, clearest-minded effort yet--achieved, thankfully, without sacrificing any of her wonderful weirdness. [Aug 2006, p.111]

Mojo

Spektor has lept from black and white into joyous colour. [Aug 2006, p.88]

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]

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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Spin

As addictive as ice-cream dots. [Jul 2006, p.88]

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.

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The Phoenix

Always ambitious, occasionally experimental, and sometimes even radio-friendly.

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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.

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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.

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BBC collective

A complex yet controlled fourth album of astonishing beauty and perfect strangeness.

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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].

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Paste Magazine

As elegant as it is addictive. [Jun/Jul 2006, p.131]

Prefix Magazine

Begin to Hope has its highs and lows, but it is a journey worth taking.

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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.

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cokemachineglow

The album's substance is obscured by the distracting presence of its production.

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Q Magazine

[She] remains comically kooky. [Aug 2006, p.116]

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]

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."

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 46 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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Begin To Hope

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