"It's contagious" trills Regina as this jittery piano ballad rushes towards its conclusion, and she's not wrong. It's so much more than that, though, it's something quite, quite beautiful. With a voice to die for and a lyric sheet from somewhere only she knows, artists like Regina Spektor don't come along too often.

When they do, you'd be advised to lend an inquisitive ear and let her lead you by the hand into a wonderful world of scattershot piano, gorgeous strings and a delivery that attempts to master several vocal disciplines at once and somehow succeeds at them all.

Varying from an almost hip-hop style flow to delivering a soulful mantra with consummate ease, 'Us' showcases an artist with talent to spare. Now, if only she'd go and lend some of the excess to James Blunt...