16 JULY 2021: REGINA SPEKTOR – Us

Artsy and innovative, quirky yet moving, Regina Spektor’s ‘Us’ is a timeless classic.

Known to many from the soundtrack of Hollywood romcom ‘(500) Days Of Summer’, Regina Spektor’s ‘Us’ has become something of a cult classic in the years since its release on her major label debut album ‘Soviet Kitsch’ back in 2004. It goes without saying that the lyrics tell a vivid story as the song progresses, but it sounds even more epic thanks to the instrumentation around it. As a songwriter and artist who very rarely plays by the rules, she embellishes her usual piano and vocal arrangement with the addition of a string quartet on this track. The melody is full of jagged leaps, and her vocal control is breathtaking throughout. That section towards the end where she throws a little downward run into every ‘it’s contagious‘ is a particular highlight. It’s one of those songs that pretty much nobody else could sing quite like she does, so you just sit back in awe, and go on the musical journey with her.