Joanna Newsom has created a masterpiece with her new album Ys. It is a five song, fifty five minute epic full of magic and wonder.Joanna Newsom plays a Lyon & Healy style 11 pedal harp. She has almost an obsession with melody and the harmonies in her songs. This may be due in part to the fact that she originally wanted to be a composer, and went to college to study to become a composer. All these components come together in her music to create music that is greatly unlike most music listened to by the general public. I mean, who plays a harp?
Her song narratives have a classical aesthetic full of antique speech. She has a very distinctive voice in which she sings. This may turn off the casual listener, but to a listener who is drawn in by her voice, her storytelling, and her music; it makes for an enjoyable and unique experience.
A major difference in Ys and Newsom’s previous album The Milk-Eyed Mender is the fact that she recruited Van Dyke Parks, a famous composer, to help with orchestral arrangements on the album. The orchestral arrangements accompany her harp playing on this album to create this wonderful album.
If you are interested in listening to something different than your average music, give Joanna Newsom a try. Her voice and narrative will wrap you up and take you into the world in which she is describing. The accompanying music will aid in the taking over of your surroundings in reality.
The harp is a really nice instrument to listen to, and Joanna Newsom’s melodies are astounding. She can really play that harp. Just let yourself be wrapped up in her voice and just listen to the music and just flow, and you can have an experience that is not often had with an album.
2 comments:
Dylan! I actually was interested enough to venture into the void, and listen to this beautiful woman's melodies. They are sweet, soothing, and supple in a sense. I was quickly seduced into a dream world of wonders and peace. I began to wonder, how did you stumble upon this music? I understand you love all folk, but hers seems different in my opinion. Maybe it's the melodies? Maybe it's because not many women are folk singers. Answers!
Well Bruce, she's all the rage on indie music websites. I try to find new and cool stuff to listen to all the time. The internet man.
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