Regina Spektor At College Street

If you’ve never heard Regina Spektor’s song “Carbon Monoxide” from her 2004 record “Soviet Kitsch,” it’s well worth a listen. Spektor, a Russian-born piano player and singer, does a special trick of turning a song about suicide into a super-hooky — if still essentially sad — ditty.

There’s a childlike singsong quality to Spektor’s lyrical phrasing, which can make her wintery sentiments seem playful. Spektor is one of only a few singers who can bring to mind Kate Bush, Bob Dylan and Lotte Lenya all in one song. She might conjure a connection to Carole King, Nico, Joni Mitchell, or even Iggy Azalea — for a moment — on another.

Spektor isn’t afraid of swerving into different directions. She treats each song as its own universe, rather than worrying about making a record that sticks together. Her albums can have a Broadway soundtrack quality in that each song might serve a different function. Spektor’s songs sometimes mask their deep-empath qualities with an outer shell of theatricality. She’s not above roping a listener in with simple beauty either.

Regina Spektor will perform solo at College Street Music Hall, 238 College St., New Haven, on Sunday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $27.50 to $47.50. collegestreetmusichall.com