Far (Bonus Track Version)

When two creative individuals come together to work, the results can be either inspired or implosive. The singular singer/songwriter/pianist/arranger Regina Spektor collaborated with not one but four different producers on her fifth studio album, Far, and the result fortifies the Russian-American’s already impressive body of work. Traveling Wilbury Jeff Lynne E.L.O., Paul McCartney and David Kahne Sugar Ray, Matthew Sweet all worked with Spektor, who delves largely into the grand theme of religion. “Laughing With,” the haunting lead-off single, might have its analog in the saying “there are no atheists in foxholes.” “The Calculation” is pure joy, while “Blue Lips” evolves from a cinematically reflective introduction to an actively explorative cadence.