The New Music Report’s Christian Rock! kicks off this week with Regina Spektor, who scored her highest chart debut with her new third album, Far. The New Yorker via Moscow is a classically trained pianist as well as an appealing weirdo, like Fiona Apple and Bjürk combined, says Christian Hoard. Her vocal hiccups (there’s even a dolphin impression on the record) can be indulgent, but she has pop songwriting gifts. Spektor’s confessionals grab you by the lapels without getting maudlin or overly emotional. Hoard says Far is a brightly produced album, but it’s also pretty straightforward, featuring piano, strings, percussion and keyboards. This time around Spektor’s lyris are deep and open — she’s sad on “Laughing With” but also whimsical on “Dance Anthem of the 80’s” where she wanders around the city with her slip showing. Hoard says he’s a fan because Spektor doesn’t try like she’s trying hard.

Jon Dolan concurs in his four-star review of the album: “Spektor is a woman who doesn’t need much excuse to have an emotional Chernobyl (in one song, it’s finding a wallet with a Blockbuster card in it). But she’s also the rare screwball who gets more universal as she gets weirder.”

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