What We Saw From The Cheap Seats is the sixth studio album from the Russian born American singer-songwriter Regina Spektor.
Variations in style within an album aren’t things that worry Spektor, and indeed there is nothing new here. In the first single from the album ‘All The Rowboats’ she produces an electro-pop feel which surprisingly seems to go well with her usual emotive vocal line. However, this track stands in stark contrast with the intimate piano work that Spektor is so well known for.
The album also includes a new version of a song from her second album ‘Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)’, initially just ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas’. The new version is much more of an instrumental celebration compared with the delicate solo piano of the original. Like much of the album, it may have a slight tendency to be over produced, but in many ways the record is an experiment for Spektor, and as a brilliant songwriter she certainly has a perfect platform to take chances and mix things up. This album displays that excellently.
For me, one of the album highlights is the slow piano ballad ‘How’. This is a new take on the love song that I wouldn’t have expected from Spektor, and her execution makes it hard for anyone unfamiliar with her work to realise that this is a new direction for her.
Another highlight, ‘Patron Saint’, is a more familiar style, but that doesn’t make it any less of a well-constructed piece of music. This is a song made with all we might expect from her: soaring vocals, steady drums and of course a stabbing piano line.
Most musicians reinvent their style with each album but Spektor seems able to do it song by song. I feel this album is a great display of her ability to find new sounds, but is still true to her musical roots. This is an album which will both quell the nerves of her devoted fanbase and cause it to grow exponentially.