Amazon.co.uk Review
If the debut album from Joanna Newsom, 2004's
The Milk-Eyed Mender, suggested there was no-one in music quite like this elfin San Franciscan harpist, its follow-up
Ys sees that gulf of difference become a universe of possibilities. Recorded by veteran engineer Steve Albini, with strings from Brian Wilson collaborator Van Dyke Parks and vocal contributions from Newsom's current beau, Bill Callahan of alternative country miserabilists Smog,
Ys is an altogether bigger, broader, more fantastical and more ambitious offering than its predecessor.
Only five tracks long, songs unfurl into grandiose narratives embossed with trumpet, violins, oboe, and French horn. But what's truly impressive is Newsom's extraordinary sense of command. On "Emily", cutesy observations of birds taking flight ("the meadowlark and the chim-cho-ree") blossom out into tales of falling meteorites, muddy-mouthed baboons and nautical adventures. Meanwhile, on the extraordinary "Only Skin" (which approaches 20 minutes in length) Newsom's voice and plucked harp flourish in strange, complimentary patterns, her voice at times born up on dramatic trumpets and cooing oboes, or for one passage, shadowed by Callahan's cobwebbed croak. It is testing in length, difficult to dip into, and not for those allergic to flights of fancy -- but
Ys is a magnificent achievement, one you suspect no one else on this planet could mimic, let alone challenge.
-- Louis Pattison
CD Description
It shouldn't be a surprise that an artist as stridently unconventional as Joanna Newsom would make a second album that overturns all the expectations established by her first. While Newsom's harp, highly poetic lyrics, and distinctive, child-like voice will be familiar to fans of THE MILK-EYED MENDER, YS takes Newsom's art in new, startling directions. The quaint, self-contained folk portraits of the debut are obliterated here in favour of sprawling epics that recall sea shanties, Homeric myths, and progressive rock. Newsom's words are still highly literate and evocative, though they seem more narrative and symbolic than the surreal expressions of MENDER. The album is graced by string arrangements from Van Dyke Parks which create a swelling, dramatic counterpoint to Newsom's performances. Production assistance from indie-rock titans Steve Albini and Jim O'Rourke helps make this stellar effort one of 2006's most provocative releases.
~ Joanna Newsom
~ Joanna Newsom
~ Joanna Newsom
~ Gillian Welch
~ Devendra Banhart
