The Observer
Posted: 19 May 2010, 07:49http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/fe ... -cd-review
Joanna Newsom: Have One On Me
The Observer review
by Kitty Empire
Pop attention spans have been in recession for some time; reputations can now be made entirely on laptops. But if any artist can justify an album filling three CDs, it is west coast bard Joanna Newsom. With her last stunning effort, 2006's Ys, Newsom led an artisanal counterinsurgency armed with a harp, luxuriant album art and allegorical compositions that frequently edged towards the eight-minute mark.
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Those maximalist keynotes remain constant on her latest album, as does Newsom's roster of animal totems. Have One on Me introduces a number of new riffs too. The cover finds Newsom swapping medieval symbolism for flapper-era luxe; fans will ponder the stuffed fawns and chinoiserie for months to come. Gone are the intense studio orchestrations of Van Dyke Parks, replaced by the more varied input of Ys Street Band leader Ryan Francesconi. If the sound of air passing over microphones bookends every song, then it makes the music crackle with life. Ys concerned itself with fathers, sisters, lovers, death and astronomy; it is, perhaps, too early to say with any certainty what Have One on Me might be about; love, Lola Montez's spider dance and horse rustling ("You and Me, Bess") are just three themes.
Newsom's work performed a great leap forward between her debut, 2004's The Milk-Eyed Mender, and Ys; there is a correspondingly Knievel-like vault here. Never lacking in assurance, the Newsom of Have One on Me has grown more graceful by loosening up. References to drinking punctuate these shape-shifting songs.
The awesome arc performed by "Baby Birch" packs in innovations: handclaps, furtive blares of electric guitar and a strange eastern origami coda that neatly folds a bit of Japan into a bit of Bulgaria. It is nine-and-a-half minutes long and yet you curse the fade-out.
The superb "Good Intentions Paving Company" is, by contrast, a jaunty road movie where Newsom's piano gets a fillip from some rattling percussion, banjo, mandolin and subdued brass. "Go Long" features a jaw-dropping duel between harp and kora, the west African lute whose techniques influenced Newsom's distinct approach to her instrument.
The headline news, though, is that Newsom has finally conquered that most wayward bit of equipment – her voice. The witch-child who squawked The Milk-Eyed Mender songs has been sent up to bed. Now Newsom can lilt and croon at will, two hours in her company flies by.
Joanna Newsom: Have One On Me
The Observer review
by Kitty Empire
Pop attention spans have been in recession for some time; reputations can now be made entirely on laptops. But if any artist can justify an album filling three CDs, it is west coast bard Joanna Newsom. With her last stunning effort, 2006's Ys, Newsom led an artisanal counterinsurgency armed with a harp, luxuriant album art and allegorical compositions that frequently edged towards the eight-minute mark.
Buy it from amazon.co.uk
Those maximalist keynotes remain constant on her latest album, as does Newsom's roster of animal totems. Have One on Me introduces a number of new riffs too. The cover finds Newsom swapping medieval symbolism for flapper-era luxe; fans will ponder the stuffed fawns and chinoiserie for months to come. Gone are the intense studio orchestrations of Van Dyke Parks, replaced by the more varied input of Ys Street Band leader Ryan Francesconi. If the sound of air passing over microphones bookends every song, then it makes the music crackle with life. Ys concerned itself with fathers, sisters, lovers, death and astronomy; it is, perhaps, too early to say with any certainty what Have One on Me might be about; love, Lola Montez's spider dance and horse rustling ("You and Me, Bess") are just three themes.
Newsom's work performed a great leap forward between her debut, 2004's The Milk-Eyed Mender, and Ys; there is a correspondingly Knievel-like vault here. Never lacking in assurance, the Newsom of Have One on Me has grown more graceful by loosening up. References to drinking punctuate these shape-shifting songs.
The awesome arc performed by "Baby Birch" packs in innovations: handclaps, furtive blares of electric guitar and a strange eastern origami coda that neatly folds a bit of Japan into a bit of Bulgaria. It is nine-and-a-half minutes long and yet you curse the fade-out.
The superb "Good Intentions Paving Company" is, by contrast, a jaunty road movie where Newsom's piano gets a fillip from some rattling percussion, banjo, mandolin and subdued brass. "Go Long" features a jaw-dropping duel between harp and kora, the west African lute whose techniques influenced Newsom's distinct approach to her instrument.
The headline news, though, is that Newsom has finally conquered that most wayward bit of equipment – her voice. The witch-child who squawked The Milk-Eyed Mender songs has been sent up to bed. Now Newsom can lilt and croon at will, two hours in her company flies by.