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"Spielerfrau is the brainchild of the Soviet émigré, former television-news anchor, journalist, and singer-songwriter Michael Idov. The trio has a sound that mixes sophisticated, reverb-drenched rock with intelligent lyrics full of Eastern European black humor and irony." — New Yorker

"Suave immigrants Spielerfrau have a moody goth-pop style that reflects their current residence New York as much as their individual homelands: Effortlessly cosmopolitan, stark and stylish, obliviously imposing. "Meringue" leavens bang-on Bauhaus with chilly urban restraint. A silvery guitar line ominously drifts; hyper-minimal textural embellishments flutter like exquisitely tiny bats; literarily inclined Pitchfork contributor Michael Idov manages to work "ramekin" into his first black velvet line. A perfect jukebox selection for discussing the finer points of Foucault in an absinthe bar while awaiting global annihilation." — Pitchfork on "Meringue"

"Recalling a sedate Nick Cave or Scott Walker— no overstated theatrics here, just darkly glistering innuendo— Spielerfrau's elegant gloom manages to be stately and spry at once. The tension between politesse and rapturous sensation is Idov's central theme, and over the course of The Sad Part, he develops it with wit, tact, and striking language that serves specificity and beauty..." — Pitchfork on The Sad Part (7.5) FULL REVIEW

"Spielerfrau is the band of Michael Idov, from Brooklyn, N.Y.-via-Russia, whose songs, filled with cosmopolitan references and writerly turns of phrase, display a casual (one is tempted to reach for an easy cliché and say Nabokovian) mastery of his adopted language. On "Meringue" Idov, singing over a cold and menacing new wave backdrop, sounds like a Slavic Nick Cave, both spooked and spooky. "Social Call" is a real treat for those of us who pine for the mordant dramatic monologues that Jarvis Cocker perfected in the mid-'90s as the frontman of Pulp. No one's written songs like that since, but Idov nails the form, inhabiting the character of the embittered loser — defeated, but both proud and spiteful in his defeat, and fighting back with vitriolic wit: "You're not the girl I used to date, if dating's what you'd call a hate-fuck, pressed against a subway grate, in yellow snow, with trains below." — Salon

"Few are as wry and dry as Spielerfrau. From the Balkans to Brooklyn, and without the drunken effrontery of Gogol Bordello, Spielerfrau's tinkling new-wavey synths and clean, angry guitars — still minimal and chilly, with oodles of Ost-European flair — form a hammer-and-sickle machine behind Soviet émigré Michael Idov and his streamlined Bauhausian delivery. A former Russian television newsman, Idov uses ironic distance and lusty humor to take on issues governmental ("Dear Leader") and personal ("A Civil [ized - ed.] Thing"). And he doesn't have anchorman hair." — New York Press

"Spielerfrau's Michael Idov has a voice that conjures a number of well-known and well-respected indie rock singers. And mixing those vocals, those of gray sheets of rain and long black coats, with the band's minor key sorrow gives us something like Tindersticks with its heart blackened due to blood loss. While the music's color and the familiar echo of Idov's voice draw you in, it's the tiny, sharp, telling barbs that hook you between the ears." — Alan Williamson, Six Eyes

"Spielerfrau (footballer's wife in German) is an intriguing band. Frontman Michael Idov delivers his lyrics in a soft but forceful tone set to a soundtrack of Tindersticks-like late night music. "Social Call" sounds suitably misanthropic but not aggressive with it. "My Intended" intones "Goddam you learn" over a surprisingly sprightly backing. "Dear Leader" sees Idov singing his words in that sly half-whisper of his while the band play like the Bad Seeds after a long night on the town. Later he sings, "I want to punch someone in the face" without raising his voice an inch, and it's creepy. Later he directs his scorn towards "ms. Aralpragsams paper tigers in press releases" and means singer MIA and her supposed Tamil tiger father. This makes for some uncomfortable listening of the convincing kind. Very neat debut in all." — Luna Kafe

"With a textured, atmospheric sound and hypnotic vocals, Spielerfrau's sound is clearly colored by its predecessors, glam rock and krautrock. The repetitious and glossy guitar riffs, not to mention the German-friendly name, are a throwback to those days of European rock decadence. Additionally, singer Michael Idov's dark baritone croon and occasional talk-singing pays homage to Nick Cave. Even the name of the album, The Sad Part, alludes to the elegant melancholia popularized by the singer/songwriter, and it begs the question, are there any light moments in Spielerfrau's first full-length album? Compared to the rest of the record, "A Civilized Thing" and the final track titled (and sung!) in Russian are relatively upbeat numbers. The former pulsates with groovy beats, loopy samples, and glitzy guitar, while the latter's mood is alleviated up by the rat-a-tat of the drums. The heaviness of the rest of the album seems a distant memory as the music fades out to the sound of a single sustained guitar note and bids a less than teary-eyed farewell." — Amp Camp

"Brainy, literate songwriters with penchant for mordant humor and winsome melodies" — Time Out NY, 9/3/05

"Spielerfrau's dark pop has whiffs of Tom Waits and Balkan music, but the band gives the tunes a vaguely detached, goth edge that brings it all together unexpectedly well" — Time Out NY, 1/13/05

"Eerie guitars and dry-ice beats... Moody, intellectual dark rock showcasing frontman Michael Idov's eccentric sensibilities" — Time Out NY, 11/18/04

"Michael Idov's compositions and erudite lyrics remain the unmistakable trait of this dark-sounding, elegant and sophisticated pop that will find adepts among fans of Tindersticks, early Magnetic Fields, Paolo Conte and French chanteurs whose names I tend to forget." — The Deli

"Spielerfrau's music can be placed in that relatively small category where artists like Tindersticks, Nick Cave, Bauhaus and Tom Waits belong. It's a place where pondered, intriguing thoughts float on sparse arrangements, where banality is banned and character emerges naturally." — The Deli

"It's music that is brimming with bottled-up emotion. Michael Idov's haunting and plaintive vocal restraints are the only real clue as to where this band's headspace is at and where it might be going. It's almost like he's keeping some scary secret and at the same time is taking some weird morbid pleasure in keeping it hidden from us." — Invasion Of The Reverb Snatchers

"This 11-track release by four transplanted Europeans convening in NYC is a wondrous experiment of dark pop and murder rock. From the multi-layered melody of "Meringue" to the impending violent lyrics tamed by a musical lull on "November Third" to the deep bass groove and electronic overlays on "Dear Leader," Spielerfrau's melancholic meanderings and mopey musings make nice for fans of Nick Cave, Peter Murphy, Interpol, and other depressive acts that enjoy the edge of night, film noir, and the color black." 3:16 Productions

"Spielerfrau play elegant, hooky, minimal rock with immensely quotable lyrics." — L Magazine

"[Some] of the finest songwriting in the City of New York... Powerfully morbid" — Like a Rolling Stone

"Tight and engaging post-punk" — Melody Nelson

"That was the saddest song I ever heard, yes - the saddest song." — Laurie Anderson, 4/11/07

Read Michael's interview with The Deli