Review: Joanna Newsom – Ys

Joanna Newsom

Ys

(Drag City)

Elfin harpist Joanna Newsom was the sleeper champion of 2004 when her debut The Milk-Eyed Mender captured the ear of nearly every top ten list out there. She returns with the more lush Ys, replacing the former’s smorgasbord of odd pop gems with longer, more orchestral tracks. She enlists no less than arranger than Van Dyke Parks (the man largely responsible for the creation of orchestral pop music) entering a realm similar to Bjork’s Vespertine album, a place where chilled classical minimalism meets quirky cabaret singing, at once off-putting and completely heart warming. Tracks like “Only Skin” has the complex flavor that Nelson Riddle gave Sinatra’s more autumnal records where “Sawdust & Diamonds” rattles and flits like a lost Joni Mitchell exploratory moment. It shows tremendous growth for this most interesting artist.