Review Summary: “11:11” will sound alien to newer fans, but it certainly holds up.
Over the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s, a string of female singer-songwriters seemed to emerge in more alternative genres. Joni Mitchell was a pioneer for this, though she was later followed by the likes of Kate Bush, Tracy Chapman, Suzanne Vega and Tori Amos – most of whom never amounted to an awful lot of chart success (bar a few songs), but were (and still are) regarded as inspirations for more recent singer-songwriters. Regina Spektor quietly followed this trend in the early 00’s.
Spektor's background greatly differs from those in her genre - born a pianistic prodigy in the Soviet Union, she was forced to briefly abandon her music to become a Jewish refugee in New York. Whilst completing her education, she remained in touch with music, particularly admiring the work of female singer-songwriters. Before becoming associated with the anti-folk genre she’s known for today, Spektor self-released her jazzy, rather sophomore debut, “11:11”, at the age of 21.
Most likely, Spektor released “11:11” not as an attempt to gain recognition, but to combine her musical abilities into an album. It’s for this reason the “11:11” doesn’t particularly strike as having a clear direction – more jazzy tracks like “Marry Ann” and “Rejazz” take the album into a seemingly bluesy, jazz-based direction, whilst some seem to contain elements of jazz, but are stylistically different otherwise.
This aside, it’s not difficult to see why Spektor has gained something of a cult following. Her quirky, but instantly recognisable voice occasionally uses falsetto, glottal stops and even some angry rasp in more minor tracks. Newer fans of Spektor particularly enjoy songs like “Samson” and “Fidelity”, and though this might sound completely different in style, one can instantly tell it’s an album by Spektor because of her tone and her unique vocal.
The majority of the album, however, is generally is much more noticeably jazz influenced, with the instrumentation of piano and double-bass rarely colliding or overruling each other. Laidback tracks like “Rejazz” and “Marry Ann” seem to juxtapose with harsher-sounding ones like “Love Affair”, and “Back of a Truck”. In lieu of the mood changes, Regina seems to remain influenced by the genre over the album’s entirety, deliberately breaking the theme on a handful of occasions to keep the listener entertained by her album.
The more enjoyable songs, however, are those few that stick out completely. “Pavlov’s Daughter” is an unusual fan favourite I’ve often considered Spektor’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Spektor lets loose into two verses of rap, complete with a middle interlude of slow piano and hazy-sounding singing. It’s odd, bold, and slightly avant-garde, but by the time it’s finished, you’d never have assumed that eight minutes have gone by. “Braille” is another oddity on the album. It completely changes the album’s mood from something more bright or sharp to something so simple and beautiful. The simple use of piano allows Spektor’s voice to shine, with her poetic lyrics being both evidently direct (“she was lying on the floor/counting stretch marks”) and nicely ambiguous (“Thinking about puddles, puddles and mistakes”).
“11:11” is a weird blend of tracks. It combines jazzier sounding pieces with tracks that wouldn’t sound too out of place on “Far” or “Begin to Hope”. The majority Spektor’s lyrics have just enough of her almost signature story-telling to intrigue the listener, though she breaks this occasionally to go into more melodically-driven songs, like “Pavlov’s Daughter”, complete with lyrics seemingly randomly compiled together. Because of this, it’s easy to tell why this is Spektor’s debut album – it doesn’t carry her in any strong direction, and sounds, at times, like she was unsure of which tracks to complete the album.
Nevertheless, “11:11” is a really enjoyable album. Like Spektor herself, it’s probably not something you’ll instantly love; it’s neither mainstream nor completely alternative. But it doesn't try to be - and it will quickly grow on you with its’ strong melodies and quirky lyrics; it’s a fantastic example of Spektor’s lyricism, musicality and general song-writing, one she continues to explore and establish to this day.
