Ys [Import]

This is a fantastic album, a song-cycle comprimised of only 5 songs, but running in at about an hour.

I'm reluctant to even try to describe this album. I think the best example to use is what generally happens after you've listened to it - little melodies, a line perhaps, tend to stick in the mind and won't be uprooted until you've found a quiet place to stick the record on.

I say a quiet place, because the obvious flaw of the album (is it really a flaw though, or is it a sad indictment about music today?), is that it demands your full attention. There are narratives hidden within the songs that overlap with others. There are garnishes of wonderful orchestral backing, but on 'Sawdusts and Diamonds' Newsom's Harp is the only other instrument, save her curious and captivating voice. 'Only Skin' is the album's longest track, a wistful blend of key changes and bizarre instrumentation. Newsom's lyrics are often fragmentary and loose, but suit her style well. Part of the fun seems to be that meanings are difficult to come by, but you will always leave this album feeling more fufilled and just a little bit wiser than you did the last time you listened to it.

There are some times that I think that I and many other reviewers on here are too free and easy in giving 5 stars to albums. The problem is that when something comes along that is absolutely outstanding then it is difficult to differentiate it from that which is merely VERY good. Joanna Newsom's 'Ys' (pronounced 'ees') is one of those works that comes along as rarely as a blue moon and is not merely excellent but is 'out of this world', an instant classic.

It's all too easy to bandy words like 'classic' around but do I mean it? The answer here is most definitely yes. This is a work that you would call genre-defining - if only it didn't completely defy genre. 'Ys' stands up there with other classic albums (White Album, Pet Sounds, Dark Side of the Moon) as being so original that nothing even remotely approaching it has been released before. This is heady company to keep, but I truly believe that this album belongs in such company. Believe me, this is an album that transcends anything else that you will hear all this year.

Saying all that, will it be successful? It is so original and beyond anything that you will hear anywhere else that it's hard to imagine that it'll get much airtime. The whole album consists of only 5 tracks, the shortest of which is over 7 minutes and the longest of which is nearly 17 minutes long. There is no guitar, there are no drums. Already you can tell that this isn't any ordinary album. The songs are all centred on Joanna Newsom's beautiful voice, harp and background orchestral arrangement.

First, the voice. Joanna Newsom has a distinctive voice, though there are obvious comparisons to Bjork (occasionally you hear Billie Holliday and Kate Bush coming through). She manages to sound child-like and ageless in one. Second, the harp playing. This is exquisite. Newsom's vocals and her harp playing perfectly match each other but at the same time seem sometimes to be doing battle with each other to see which leads. Third, the orchestral arrangement. Produced by Van Dyke Parks, the orchestral arrangements are always only in the background and so never overpower the singing and the harp. This is excellent in itself and the whole work has a very full sound.

Then there are the songs themselves. Lyrically there can be few albums that have ever bettered this. Each song is a story within itself. But the stories are written as poetry. The words are pure magic. Utterly evocative.

I played this three times yesterday and again this morning on the way to work. Incredibly my usual Monday morning angry mood completely dissipated whilst listening to this. I absolutely love it.

Saying all that - is it for everybody. I guess this might just pass over some completely. If you want immediacy then you might not like this. This is something to completely lose yourself in. Something that might take you time. However, this for me is as perfect as it gets. Listening to this is like emerging from early morning mist into a lucid blue sky. Fantastic music. (10/10)

This is a concept album (or a 'song cycle' as the classical world would have it), meant to be heard from start to finish, 5 songs over 55 minutes. First spins of many including me (I'll never forget it!) have the listener thinking 'doesn't this crazy woman ever shut up!'

Then we start listening to the lyrics and reading the gilt-edged lyric booklet, laid out with such precision that you know it's made for reading. It becomes clear... this is poetry set to music, and is best approached in that way. Although some might dismiss Newsom as a fairy princess, yes the words can be mystical but they are articulate, earthy and deeply personal - the first song 'Emily' is a love letter to her astro-physicist sister and positively aches with love for Emily and their father. The orchestrations of the legendary Van Dyke Parks swell and surge brilliantly throughout most of the album.

Although initially this harpist/singer/songwriter was associated with the indie music world, she deserves to be heard by anyone interested in serious (i.e. classical) music. For my part I'm a Verdi and Beethoven obsessive, but it sure is good to be able to appreciate this living poetic musical marvel. I've had this album more than 4 years and it remains a compelling listen.