Joanna Newsom

Joanna Newsom

Some people may use words like weird, strange or bizarre to describe this particular artist. I can understand where these people are coming from. Her high pitched voice, odd facial expressions and interesting lyrics aren’t exactly what people consider ordinary. However, many can’t seem to get passed her “weirdness” to appreciate how great of an artist Joanna Newsom truly is.

Joanna Newsom is an extremely talented singer-songwriter, pianist and harpist –yes...she plays the harp! Just recently, she came out with her third album Have One On Me. I must say, the first thing I noticed when listening to the album was that her voice sounded more “normal” –I suppose that’s the word I should use. I personally loved her pure-childlike-goosebump-inducing-high-pitch voice that was present on her previous two albums Ys and the Milk-Eyed Mender, and I was a little sad to hear that she had changed it. But you know what they say... people change, so do voices -hum... or do people say that? I have learnt to accept Joanna Newsom’s choice and came to realise that it’s just a more mature sounding version of herself, which isn’t necessary better or worst then her pure-childlike-goosebump-inducing-high-pitch voice of the past. Well enough about her voice- moving on... I feel that the 2 hours length album Have One On Me is a great album, however I still prefer her album Ys-which is definitely up there in my top favourite albums evaaaaa. The great thing about Have One On Me is that we see Joanna’s versatility with different styles. The song Soft As Chalk is one of my favourites off of the album. The incredible piano and the slow build up of percussions throughout the song makes it so powerful and unpredictable. My personal favourite song by Joanna Newsome would have to be the 12:08 min long song from her Ys album titled Emily. The orchestra playing behind Joanna’s talent on the harp in this song demonstrates her depth and unique style as an artist- oh yeah...and she manages to throw in some banjo in there which does not seem to be out of place, not even a bit. Oh, we cannot forget her lyrics-Her ability to create images, convey feelings and tell stories is what makes her remarkable as a songwriter. She manages to create an incredible magical fairytale like world-well at least in my mind.

The more I listen to her the more I discover that I like her that much more. I can go on and on...So basically, she is AMAZING...

I would be wrong to say that Joanna Newsom is not weird or strange or bizarre... this is entirely true. However, it is this that makes her so pure and unique... this is the reason why her album is on repeat.

Have a listen

Celyne.