Bloginity [5/5]
Posted: 02 Jun 2010, 09:47http://www.bloginity.com/entertainment/ ... nder/1882/
Posted by Team Bloginity on November 16 2008.
Joanna Newsom
[rating:5/5]
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 surrel 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 piano.
But once the listener gets acclimated to its peculiarities, the album makes for revelatory listening. Newsom’s music takes folk-rooted fors and twists them into idiosyncratic shapes. Tracks like “Sprout And The Bean,” which was featured on the movie The Strangers, or “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 elements 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, Cookie, Cowrie,” a haunting meditation on loneliness. Dreamlike, dedicate and sometimes downright weird. The Milk-Eyed Mender surrenders its strange charms if given the chance.
Posted by Team Bloginity on November 16 2008.
Joanna Newsom
[rating:5/5]
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 surrel 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 piano.
But once the listener gets acclimated to its peculiarities, the album makes for revelatory listening. Newsom’s music takes folk-rooted fors and twists them into idiosyncratic shapes. Tracks like “Sprout And The Bean,” which was featured on the movie The Strangers, or “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 elements 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, Cookie, Cowrie,” a haunting meditation on loneliness. Dreamlike, dedicate and sometimes downright weird. The Milk-Eyed Mender surrenders its strange charms if given the chance.