MashGet

Of all the lines an artist can spend her life crossing, the one between "cute" and "cutesy" is one of the riskiest. Seriousness attaches itself to explicit violence or sexuality -- think of Eminem and Madonna, discussed in the halls of church and state. Going deep into the realm of childlike wonder and whimsicality has the opposite effect. People smile at art rendered in pretty colors and a sunny voice, but they don't think about it too hard; doing so might result in sugar shock.

Regina Spektor traffics in cuteness as a form of alienation, a way of distinguishing her perceptions from the "normal" way of viewing things. The 29-year-old Jewish "anti-folk" star is a classic outsider: She emigrated from Moscow to the Bronx as a child,