As good as she can be, Regina Spektor hasn't ever put out a great album - all the ones I've listened to before this one have had at least one or two truly great songs ("Carbon Monoxide" and "Us" from Soviet Kitsch, "Better" from Begin to Hope, "Blue Lips" from Far) and a smattering of other very good ones, but none have really pulled together as a completely satisfying whole. And, unfortunately, ...Cheap Seats isn't the one to break that pattern; if anything, it's a step backwards - while listenable, there's nothing really exciting, either because of interest or straightforward emotional impact (closest in that latter respect is "How"), on it, with honourable mentions to "Patron Saint" and "Ballad of a Politician".
