#3
Joanna Newsom
Ys
Joanna Newsom
Ys
Joanna Newsom is made of wood. Throughout the course of Ys, her voice squeaks, creaks, wobbles, moans, whistles and warbles like a knotty old oak, creating a sound that’s every bit as lilting and beautiful as it is splintered and rough-hewn—equal parts Tori Amos, Björk and Captain Beefheart, if you can imagine it. Meanwhile, she accompanies herself adeptly on that most ethereal of instruments, the harp, augmented by the expert orchestration of legendary Brian Wilson collaborator (and musical force in his own right) Van Dyke Parks. From its faux-Renaissance cover art to its long, meandering tracks and highly poetic and imagistic lyrics, Ys is clearly not an album to be taken lightly. In fact, some might accuse Newsom of self-indulgence. But it’s this very uncompromising quality that makes the album so incredibly compelling. Give it time, and Newsom’s deeply felt, carefully constructed and brilliantly performed music will intoxicate you and leave you feeling dazed and disoriented afterward. Either that or you’ll absolutely hate it.
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