Joanna Newsom's "Have One On Me," a staggering triple-disc affair, was released yesterday, and it is an album that rewards patience. Each of the three discs is comprised of six songs over 35-45 minutes, and while there are a few 3- or 4-minute tracks, the bulk of it is folk songs of the 7-10 minute variety. Listening to it as the backdrop for women's curling this weekend, I got nothing more out of it than decent background music. But I gave it my full attention on Monday and again Tuesday, and it knocked me flat out.
The music is what you would expect: Newsom's feathery vocals backed by harp, strings and/or piano, plus a few surprises along the way. All very meticulously and beautifully arranged, but without much interest to chorus, bridge, or what we otherwise know as song structure. There are no pop songs here, but a few of the tracks fall into the more accessible 3-5 minute range. This is not one of those songs.
I had originally upped this song to post, but came back to this one, which is becoming my runaway favorite. But if you like this one, you might try the other.
(Incidentally, when did Joanna Newsom become an incomparable, unparalleled indie goddess? I picked up the album on vinyl today, after getting a demo version from a friend this past week, and I wish I could show you the photos on the liner notes. But I mean, goddamn, you guys. I want to go to there.)
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3 comments:
You know, I really dig Joanna Newsom, she gets much more impressive with each release.
Goddamn. I... man, I really liked that a lot. I'm getting that album this moment and listening to the whole thing.
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