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Soviet Kitsch - Regina Spektor
Metascore
72 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9
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  1. cokemachineglow
    80
    It's conceivable that she can be marketed as a hipper Michelle Branch (the string arrangements get a little schmaltzy), but at her most accessible she's still too resolutely quirky.
  2. Blender
    80
    Traces of Joni Mitchell, PJ Harvey, Björk and Cat Power are all proudly on display in the unpredictable arrangements and off-kilter emotions.
  3. The A.V. Club
    80
    Spektor's songs tend to take strange turns halfway through, jutting off for a chorus or bridge that barely seems connected to what's come before, then circling back to make the connection clear.
  4. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    While her art folk has its considerable charms, it's also erratic and, at times, exhausting. [11 Feb 2005, p.63]
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  5. All Music Guide
    70
    Spektor is an engaging performer throughout the album, and despite her arty quirks, she's never pretentious.
  6. PopMatters
    70
    The first few plays require a bit of patience, but this is a unique new talent. Like listening to PJ Harvey or Shannon Wright, having patience pays off.
  7. Pitchfork
    68
    There's a wealth of great material here... all diminished, to various degrees, by genre affectations.
  8. Rolling Stone
    60
    Spektor's cabaret shtick occasionally wears thin, but Kitsch's highlights... have an appealing honesty that can't be faked.
  9. Junkmedia
    30
    While Spektor possesses an intriguing voice, she uses it in such a cloying, affected manner as to be almost entirely off-putting.
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.3 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 42 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 23
  3. Negative: 3 out of 23
  1. kman5473
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. I love Regina's voice; it's gorgeous hitting all the high notes, but she's also able to fill up her vocal cords and get a darker sound. Ode to Divorce is a great start, just a single heart beating. The lyrics are by far some of the most original I've heard. It's also a well thought-out song so it earns 8/10. Poor Little Rich Boy is wonderful; it has lyrics that I perceive to be excruciatingly cynical. The construct of the music is also great because it emphasizes the "you're so young, you're so goddamn young" part at the end. I constantly find myself altering the lyric "young" to "dumb" thinking about some of me exgfs (ha!). It gets 8/10. Carbon Monoxide is close to my favorite on the album; I definitely see the influence of "No Surprises" by Radiohead, which is great; 9/10. The Flowers is pretty good: 7/10. Us, obviously the single, is great. I definitely feel like the most amount of work into this song. It starts of strong, and only gets stronger as it goes on. Love the strings and the lyrics are wonderful: 10/10. Sailor Song is a great incite into how Regina sees the world; obviously she's singing about a girl who is very respectable (either herself, or someone she knows) and get's called a **** because she doesn't get into bed with every guy who wants her. It's also a very new-sound kind of track in a great way: 9/10. Now, Your Honor in an artistic perspective is close to perfect. The brutish/punk sound she creates reflects the stupidity of a guy who "fought for her honor." With that said, the actual replay value of it is pretty low. It does it she wants it to do: reflect the guys violent behavior; but misses on what a song is supposed to do. 5/10. "Ghost of Corporate Future," is a pretty song with a great message to the middle-class working man stuck in a boring life. Although it's great, and is also pretty funny song, it's a theme that (for me) is a bit over-done. 8/10. Chemo Limo starts out promising something more, but with lyrics that seem to be meaningless, it just goes on and on and gets oddly dramatic with the "Oh my god, Barbara! She looks just like my mom!" 7/10. Somedays had soooo much potential, and starts as one of the best conclusions to an album I've heard yet, but then it just stops. Maybe it's because I'm a concept album kind of person, but I just felt like this song promised so much more! It's as if Regina was just like "ok, that's it." So, because it had so much more potential and was the last thing we are left with I have to be harsh: 4/10.… Full Review »
  2. gagaforever
    10
    Regina Spektor is so very under credited. Her song "Us" is among my favorite songs and this album is in plain english "OUTSTANDING"....THere is nothing that needs to be changed or rerecorded...Pure joy when it is listened to… Full Review »
  3. Pedro
    10
    TNH, you don't even know good grammar! "she is a terrible songwriters"? Get your plural/singular differences right, **** This CD is amazing. Regina is next in the line of great women who play the piano, including Tori, Kate, and Fiona. Her lyrics are wonderfully unique and her voice is beautiful.… Full Review »
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