- The Milk-Eyed Mender · 2004
- The Muppets (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) · 2011
- Ys · 2006
- Have One On Me · 2010
- Ys · 2006
- The Milk-Eyed Mender · 2004
- Ys · 2006
- Ys · 2006
- Have One On Me · 2010
- Ys · 2006
- The Milk-Eyed Mender · 2004
- The Milk-Eyed Mender · 2004
- Have One On Me · 2010
Essential Albums
- Pronounced “ees,” harpist Joanna Newsom’s second album is an unusual piece of modern artistry; it doesn’t sound like anything else released in 2006. Five songs in 55 minutes, the album slowly unravels in its idiosyncratic nuance. Newsom’s voice recalls old style jazz and cabaret singers with the touch of a ‘60s folkie while her compositions and arrangements are steeped in wandering, ponderous art song. Strings, woodwinds, brass, a variety of percussion – at points, a full orchestra — and the expert scoring of legendary and controversial producer Van Dyke Parks who has enhanced and skewered the music of the Beach Boys, Randy Newman and Victoria Williams over the years, make this onion worth unpeeling. There is no easy point of entry. The opening cut, “Emily,” for example, begins: “The meadowlark and the chim-choo-ree and the sparrow set to the sky in a flying spree, for the sport of the pharaoh.” These are not easy songs to penetrate, narrative in moments and quickly abstract, romantic in the longing for an existence very apart from modern life.
- The scrambled fairyland found in The Milk-Eyed Mender might’ve been created by Beatrix Potter under the influence of magic mushrooms, but actually it’s the work of singer/songwriter Joanna Newsom who infuses this 2004 release with a sweetly surreal glow. These songs are not for everybody — the lyric vocabulary is exotic, the melodies are childlike to the point of preciousness, and Newsom sings in a girlish warble while accompanying herself on harp and piano. But once the listener gets acclimated to its peculiarities, the album makes for revelatory listening. Newsom’s music takes folk-rooted forms and twists them into idiosyncratic shapes. Tracks like “Sprout And The Bean,” “The Book Of Right-On” and “This Side Of The Blue” are poetic meanders filled with whimsical details and startling imagery. Some tunes — especially “Cassiopeia,” an insomniac’s lullaby — come across like word-association games set to music. A playful, twang-laden country element creeps into “Inflammatory Writ” and “Sadie.” “Swansea” and the traditional tune “Three Little Babies,” carry a spooky undercurrent. The most affecting song is “Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie,” a haunting meditation on loneliness. Dreamlike, delicate and sometimes downright weird, The Milk-Eyed Mender surrenders its strange charms if given the chance.
Albums
- 2015
- 2010
- 2006
- 2004
Music Videos
- 2004
Artist Playlists
- A radical songwriter breathes new life into old sounds.
- Delicate instrumental touches and powerful compositions.
- The idiosyncratic folk and singer-songwriter tracks that shaped her.
Singles & EPs
About Joanna Newsom
Appalachian-meets-avant-garde indie folk musician Joanna Newsom, who had a musically rich childhood growing up in Nevada City, California, played piano before switching to the harp at age seven, later adopting an approach to the Celtic harp influenced by West African and Venezuelan harp music. Upon reaching high-school age she began writing and recording instrumental songs, but eventually gravitated toward singing and songwriting. Will Oldham and Cat Power invited her to play opening slots for their shows, and after Newsom released a pair of EPs, her full-length debut, The Milk-Eyed Mender, arrived on Drag City in 2004. The critically acclaimed Ys was released in 2006, and the triple-disc Have One on Me followed in 2010. Newsom also plays with the Pleased and noise rock trio Nervous Cop. ~ Heather Phares
- HOMETOWN
- Grass Valley, CA, United States
- BORN
- January 18, 1982
- GENRE
- Alternative