Audio Mixer: David Kahne.

Recording information: New York Noise Studios, New York, NY; Seesquaredstudio, New York, NY.

Photographer: Adria Petty.

BEGIN TO HOPE finds anti-folk chanteuse Regina Spektor taking a small step away from piano balladry into the brave new world of the pop song. And what pop songs they are. Spektor's voice takes the foreground over sparse arrangements of guitars, strings, some electronic beats, and yes, piano. Her singing, if you can believe it, is even better than it was on SOVIET KITSCH: intimate, playful, and full of jazzy phrasings. She slips effortlessly into falsetto and scat in a manner reminiscent of Joni Mitchell. "Hotel Song" finds Spektor singing whispery and smooth over humming organs and a muted snare drum. In "On The Radio," she sings about hearing G'N'R's "November Rain" while plucked strings and synth arpeggios go noodling on behind her. This is an album full of surprises, not the least of which is how lovely the effect is overall.