Ys
Label: Drag City Records
Length: LP
Media: CD
Format: Album
WorkNameSort: Ys
Even those who have accepted Joanna Newsom’s oddity will find her sophomore effort challenging. Whatever tenuous ties her debut had to indie rock are sheared here. In an elaborately orchestral turn, her freak-folk spins brocades of cryptic enchantment, conjuring a sphere that’s both otherworldly and inner-worldly. The gossamer album flows in symphonic expanses of strings and horns rippled by Newsom’s harp, but despite the expanded sound, the focus is lyrical. With sophisticated meter that transcends typical pop structures, these compositions are as much poetry as they are songs, sometimes more. Her dense, literate verses are rich with antiquated language and ornate imagery. The thick insert itself mimics a worn leather-bound book with gilt-edged pages. With five songs stretched to nearly an hour, the disc is ambitious to the point of esoteric. It’s skillful and unique, but only recommended if you’re into pixies and fairies.
This article appears in Nov 15-21, 2006.