Ys

An interesting change from the recent albums. Nothing I would normally listen to. Sounds to me like a orchestral version of Björk with the vocals sometimes on the edge to annoying. In total not really my jam. 1,5

I can both appreciate and not care for something. Newsom could probably do some really interesting soundtracks but Ys is a little artsy for me.

Parfois elle lâche des petits cris qui sont trop bizarres, ça me fait penser à Nico. Genre vraiment c'est de la musique faite par une bobo

One of those things you hear that clearly has a lot of artistry and skill behind it but oh god, her voice hurts. That's disappointing. This album looks like it would be right up my alley - on paper. Unfortunately in practice she sounds like a juvenile Bjork who is intentionally trying to cause me pain with her high note voice cracks and squeaking. Why would someone sing like this? Are you trying to sound like a 7 year old with a mouth full of cotton balls? Like one of those old timey, dimpled child stars with the curly pigtails? Like a vengeful Kewpie doll come to life? Why? Points for creativity but this can go in the dust bin with Wainwright. If your music physically hurts me with no payoff, sorry but no thanks.

This is certainly unique and unlike any other album I've listened to. I remember it being critically acclaimed when it came out but I never sought it out given it's not on Spotify Not sure it's my kind of thing though. The songs don't really feel like they go anywhere.. the orchestral arrangements are very nice and it's pleasant, but to me it sounded like Bjork rambling endlessly over strings and I couldn't get into it

Interesting. Love her voice!

Not feeling this. I come back to Milk-Eyed Mender a lot. But this one sounded meandering to me. I couldn’t latch onto anything.

Hoe noem ik deze zangafwijking eigenlijk? Het is een soort geknauw, maar niet dat ingestudeerde Amerikaanse geknauw. De zang is verder ook wel weer 'Kunst, omdat het moet'. Maar binnen die categorie hebben we wel erger op ons bordje gekregen. De muziek tingelt soms me wat te gek, maar an sich past een harp wel bij het geheel. Het geeft een wat nostalgisch sfeertje. Het had allemaal wel even gekund. Maar het duurt me veel te lang.

Oei, dit ademt vooraf al in grote kapitalen: SNOBkeuze. Maar zoals jullie van mij gewend zijn, sta ik hiervoor natuurlijk heel erg open, want zo ben ik. Qua muziek valt gelijk het ietwat aanstellerige gezang van mevrouw Newsom op. De arrangementen zijn veelal folky, als in terug naar de middeleeuwen. Met heel veel orkestwerk erbij, alsof je naar een tekenfilm/musical aan het luisteren/kijken bent. Het zijn lange verhalen op muziek en ik kan niet ontkennen dat het op een bepaalde manier sfeervol overkomt. Het blijft natuurlijk wel een aparte ervaring en niet iets waar je op elk moment van de dag voor open staat. Het is meer iets voor een zondagochtend, in ieder geval voor een moment dat je alle tijd hebt om rustig te luisteren ipv als je aan het werk bent. En dat ben ik nu, al probeer ik me te verplaatsen naar die andere mindset. Al met al is dit niet iets wat ik uit mezelf ooit nog eens op ga zetten. En ik ben bang voor Joanna dat ik het zeer snel vergeten zal zijn. Het is meer kennis nemen van. En door. Omdat het wel enige kwaliteit en muzikaliteit bevat geef ik het 2 sterren.

Interesting acoustic album. Songs are too long. Would not listen again

Too artsy for me. Couldn't make it through the first song

Gear: INAWAKEN Twilight-DS Artwork: ️🐦‍⬛🪻🪑 Production: 👂🩺🧈 Music: 🎻🪉⏳ Rating: 🦋🦋(🦋)/5

I couldn't finish it. Her voice was either really good or really irritating at some points, which makes it hard to get pass when every song is an average of 10 minutes. The fairy tale/Renaissance instrumentals were so beautiful though, I wish I can just get an album of that. In short, this album isn't terrible, but it is not my cup of tea, so much so I'm not gonna bother drinking the rest of the cup.

Was interesting for a second then it just kind of got boring and I wished it was over and all the stuff started sounding the same. I don’t know I don’t know. I just don’t know.

I’ve been dreading this one. Joanna Newsom is one of those vocalists like Tom Waits that is absolute nails on a chalkboard to me. This is basically what you would get if someone was trained by a skilled harpist but who was only familiar with singing as a concept. I like weird stuff, as my ratings here will attest, but sometimes outsider art should stay outsider art. I’ll boost it by one star because the unconventional songwriting is at least interesting, but personally I’m never listening to this ever again. Now for those 3 Waits albums… 😬

Love her harp playing (hence the two stars). A voice only a mother could love and too twee by half lyrics.

That was weird. At times I was thinking it was kinda good but in the end it wasn’t.

Like a medieval Tori Amos who can't sing and who throws occasian dolphin noises in form good measure

I don’t love her singing-voice bit i will give other of her albums a try.

Couldn't listen

Beautiful voice, super mellow tracks... but why do they have to be so loooooooooooooong? Man, it’s impossible to listen to and fully enjoy this—after a few minutes, you just fall asleep. No, it’s not essential to listen to this, just as it’s not essential to include it on a list like this. But, I repeat, nice voice, very much in the style of Björk, except… nah, I can’t bring myself to give it more than a 2 :-(

waarom zingt ze.. zo. zitten verder best leuke stukjes tussen dus toch maar 2 sterren

mja het deed me niet zoveel. wel goeie albumhoes!

Not for me

A tough listen. I can understand why this would be on the list, but not really something I would want to listen to.

Bjork vibes. Was alright.

All for creativity. Things are allowed to be different. I am also allowed not to enjoy 10 minute droning songs with rambling vocals in 2006 indie girl voice.

Not for me

Kind of like an American version of Bjork. Album felt like a long run on sentence for a while, which was equally impressive and a little exasperating. She is definitely talented, even if this isn't my cup of tea. 2.5/5 Probably won't listen again

More fascinating than enjoyable to listen to. I don’t understand her voice and how she sings that way.

3.5/10

This album was a real chore to get through. I get that she's trying to be all artsy and stuff, but it just comes across as super self-indulgent. The songs are way too long, five tracks shouldn't take an hour! They keep going and going, just adding on extra minutes of boring filler. It's like an endurance test, not a listening experience. And the vocals? They're really not for me. They're super high-pitched and grating, like some kind of squeaky caricature. It reminds me of a Renaissance Faire or a cheap Björk/Regina Spektor knock-off.

Well that took me a good 4-5 sittings to get through. I wouldn't say it's bad, it's certainly unique but I feel disadvantaged in recognizing its uniqueness- playing Dungeons and Dragons with a Bard player in the party somehow feels the same as listening to this album. To describe it better, it's that mix of idealized medieval folklore and fantasy themes with 21st century convictions. The purpose of the album feels like it's trying to introduce and welcome you to this weirdness, which might work for someone not used to this kind of music but it falls a bit flat for people that are already nerdy weirdos. Me belonging to the latter camp this is a bit of a skip album for me. PS. Nothing from Joanna Newsom is available on Spotify so this album made me finally make the move to another streaming service. I chose Tidal, but seriously if you care about music at all, get off Spotify.

I felt like this was trying to do something different but it didn’t pay off really. It was interesting but not really my thing. I felt it was quite repetitive and slightly boring

I appreciate the attempt to do something different here, but it’s not my thing. I didn’t enjoy the singing or the instrumentation here, but I’m glad I now know this exists. Weirdly timeless.

Why, indeed.

An album that sounds like no other. Arguably maximum twee. I understand if you love it or hate it but for me it's neither. It's interesting enough to be in the list and parts of it draw you in, but it all gets a bit cloying. If I'm honest with myself, it's really not for me. However, it should, without a doubt, be in the book. Best Tracks: Emily; Monkey & Bear; Sawdust & Diamonds

I’ve seen a lot of critics proper slagging off her vocals, but to be fair, that wasn't really an issue for me at all. I actually quite like her voice—it's unique. My issue is just that I didn't find the songs particularly interesting. The whole thing just felt a bit repetitive after a while, and I found myself getting a bit bored to be honest. The standout for me was definitely "Sawdust and Diamonds." This album is definitely not as bad as some of the brutal comments you see online, but it’s not something I particularly enjoyed too much or will be rushing to play again either. Neat ideas, just a bit of a slog to get through.

tough. all over. voices. sounds.

somebody wrote "omg she never shuts up".

Björk but different

Ik zit blijkbaar in de Joan hoek, met gisteren Joan en vandaag Joanna. Grappig dat ik gisteren geweldig vond omdat het folk was, maar er ook gewoon fantastische instrumentale muziek was die dansbaar was en afwisselend was. Na 10 minuten:Dit daarentegen? Dit is folk zoals ik ken en niet perse vet vind. Wel iets meer variatie dan "Man of vrouw met akoestische gitaar" maar nog steeds niet helemaal mijn ding. Wel heel erg middeleeuwse vibes wat dat betreft, misschien ook wel vanwege de albumcover. Na 20 minuten: De zang... Ja de zang, ik ben echt geen fan van haar manier van zingen. Dit doet me zo erg denken aan musicals en ik hou gewoon niet van musicals. Het is overdreven qua intonatie, geen woord word normaal gezongen. Ik geloof meteen dat als dit je ding is, dat dit album een top 3 album allertijden is. Het is gewoon heel erg niet mijn ding. ^Bovenstaande schreef ik na een minuut of 20. Dit album duurt 55 minuten. Na 30 minuten: Dit is echt veel en veeeeeeeel te lang voor hoe matig de zang is. Ik las ergens dat ze doet denken aan Tones and I, van Dance monkey 'fame' en ik snap die wel. 40 minuten. Laat het stoppen. Ik wil deze vrouw nooit meer horen zingen. Ik irriteer me helemaal kapot aan dat album en specifiek aan de zang. Dit is denk ik mijn Guantanamo Bay marteltechniek. 55 minuten. Eindelijk. Het einde. Ik hoop echt nooit meer een album van deze vrouw te hoeven luisteren. Mensen die minder last hebben van de zang vinden het helemaal geweldig. Ik kon me gewoon niet focussen op teksten of instrumenten, de gehele tijd hoorde ik alleen maar de verschikkelijke zang van Joanna. Snel vergeten en door hiermee. Is dit 1 ster? Ik vind het helemaal niets, maar kan me wel voorstellen dat als je wat meer tegen haar stem kan dat dit een geweldig album is. Ook haalt voor mij de instrumentale muziek het nog wel iets omhoog. 2 sterren, maar echt net aan. FAVO: Staat niet op Spotify, Youtube was gewoon het volledige album en eerlijk? Het album kon me niet genoeg boeien om de extra moeite te doen om te kijken of ik er een favoriet nummer uit kan halen...

The weirdest and one of the less pleasant ones that I’ve listened to. Some of the songs would have been good if they weren’t 40 hours long 🥱😴. Overall, I’d give it a 2.4/5! 🫡🫠

Νομίζω πως μπορώ να δω την όραση, και σε μερικά σημεία είναι πολύ μαγευτικά τα κομμάτια αλλά υποφέρουν απο τεράστια διάρκεια, περίεργα φωνιτικά και έντονη προσπάθεια του να δείξουν ότι είναι ξεχωριστα Sawdust & Diamonds

I like experimental stuff but her voice was just.. grating.

Tom & Jerry music set in Middle Earth, as delivered by Tara Strong??? Way overstays it's welcome. It's a bit much man.

Un petit côté Kate Bush

I want to like this. I think the songs and arrangements themselves contain beauty. I think that Newsom explores new territory. There are two monumental problems this record has though: first, the tracks don’t need to be that long; second, the vocals. The length issue is easy to explain, a little editing would have gone a long way. My issue with the vocals is where I’m at a little bit of a loss. She squeaks occasionally, and when she does it pierces through the whole mix. I found myself messing with eq so that the squeak in her voice wasn’t so irritating. I couldn’t fix it. This album’s a 2 verging on a 3. Good idea but half baked and needs tweaking in the vocals department.

Ok, just not my scene

Interesting and extra points for whimsy but couldn’t really engage with it to be honest.

The background instrumentation is nice, but the songs seem to carry on way past a good length; and her voice is too distracting to appreciate the rest of the album.

This didn’t do much for me. I can appreciate Joanna’s voice, her skill at and pianist and her harp playing. However that doesn’t mean I want to revisit this any time soon.

I don't know what this is but I'm giving it a 2. And I cannot explain it but feel if I listened to it 10 more times I'd give it a 5.

* Don't listen to this album on max volume, your ears will thank you. Jump scared by the screeches. * I do really like the harp, but this feels nonsensical- like an endless fever dream stream of consciousness. * I feel like I'm eating colored marshmallows? *** returning a few hours post-listen... This album altered my brain. What kind of chaotic demonic witchcraft is this?! -1 star ***

Fing gut an aber ging mir dann doch nach 3-4min auf den Sack. Stimme zu quietschig und die Songs waren mir zu chaotisch.....

I like the idea behind this album, but I'm not so fond of the sound. Decent, but far from great.

Me sonó a Bjork, más folk. El problema es que no está en Spotify. No pasa nada, not my kind

It was ok but I am marking it down as it was struggle to find it

Interesting at first but it gets tedious real fast. And that has everything to do with her voice and vocal delivery because the composition and instrumentals are really gorgeous. Would definitely listen to this more often if it wasn’t for the singing. Very unfortunate

Ambitious record, but a tough listen for me. Obviously a great talent in harp and songwriting and composition. Her voice made the whole thing just too hard to listen to. I respect the effort and how unique this sound is, but it doesn’t work for me.

I hate singers who sing strangely to stand out. Or perhaps there's something wrong with her?

The orchestration on this is absolutely gorgeous, but the vocal styles and song structures meandered a bit too recklessly for me.

Boring as hell. Maybe beautiful too, but too boring to see it

I can see its merit, and I understand why people would like it. It's just not really my thing.

Yeah this is quite the concept. Renaissance/baroque pop. Wildly medevil. Did I hear a fucking lute? I won't disparage my fellow man for enjoying music like this. I used to LARP in the woods through my late teens. But thematically these songs are far too long, far too complicated and wordy to enjoy outright. And even in the right mindset this is a devious ablum to listen to before you die because it really tests you how much high pitched kermit the frog vocals you can handle. Melodies and instrumentations were cool. But beyond that I don't think this is as important as this list may make it out to be. IMO of course.

I really wish I liked this. People rave about her lyrics, but I found her voice grating and it wasn’t easy to make out the words. Her melodies are often similar and there’s a lack of dynamic range. Sorry, Andy. Quaid army.

OK.

This was an interesting one for sure. There were parts of it that I genuinely liked. The really strong orchestral parts were probably the best parts for me. But then there were long stretches that were just terrible. She has an interesting and unique voice that I thought was fitting, but overall this wasn’t great. There were parts I would give a high 3 to but there were too many 1 and 2 star parts.

This is an instance where you can indeed judge a book (record) by it's cover. I soon as I saw the cover I was pretty sure what was coming...and sure enough I got exactly what I expected. I tend to like quirky voices, and I did like Joanna's voice. Her voice lent a nice contrast to the orchestral music on the album. Gave it a bit of texture. Nice overall, but she gave us one song. She can pretend there are five tracks but it's one song. I'd be good with five minutes of this, nearly an hour was rough.

She's married to Andy Samberg?? Da heck? Pretty annoying voice and affectations. Some nice instrumentation. I'd rather listen to Dick in a Box. You know what, 10 minutes into this first track I must be getting a bit of Stockholm Syndrome. There's some cool shit going on, but jesus christ her voice grates

I couldn't get into this at all. Found it rather grating. Will not return.

Not on Spotify so tricky to listen to

Liian eksentrisesti esitettyä folkkia omaan makuun.

I get the concept and the instrumentals are beautiful but I don't like her timbre

Some moments were genuinely enjoyable as a casual listening experience, but I cannot tell you which tracks it was since this album is not on Spotify and I listened in one straight shot from a video on YouTube. The background harp and accompanying music is beautiful, but the Bjork vocals ranged from "tolerable" to "chuckle worthy".

Art harp music I guess? Random word generator spat out lyrics to haphazardly spray over chords

Ok pleasant

I know people who love this album but man is it ever not for me, maybe one of the most exhausting albums I've ever heard. All the songs seem to just go on forever and her voice is just nails on a chalkboard.

I *get* it, but I don’t like it. This was a tough listen. Someone else said Bjork from wish.com, which is apt. Give me Fleet Foxes instead. If that makes me an uncultured normie so be it. 2.

A review on the Wikipedia article called this "meandering" and... Yeah. That's about right. Between the wailing vocals, the minimalist backing track, and the... Fanciful... songwriting, idk. Just isn't for me. Also this woman is Gavin Newsom's second cousin lol

Well. Yeah. So that happened. I don’t regret listening but I will not be returning. I felt like I was listening to a lilting minstrel as we traveled the back roads of medieval Kentucky. The orchestral additions were helpful because it added to the harp and her occasional vocal stretches beyond her range, but it also was distracting and felt over dramatic at times, like the phone book dropped into a disco song and returned only with the synthesized orchestra. I honestly didn’t realize that the first twelve minutes were the same song. Her harp work on Sawdust & Diamonds made up for her vocals, which wore on me by the end of the song. This is music for someone, just not me.

Not for me again. I understand why people like this but I just can’t get past her voice. It is so dissonant from the ethereal and beautiful orchestration that it just doesn’t resonate with me. And she NEVER STOPS SINGING for more than five seconds so I can’t just vibe out to the music. I’d love to hear the orchestration alone to experience that.

Her voice really made me think of Bjork the whole time. The musical arrangements accompanying her singing were orchestral while also feeling like they belonged at a Ren Faire. Guess the album cover makes sense for that then.

Well, the album is not available on Spotify or Amazon music, but I was able to find a song by this lady. What it told me about her voice and style (and the folks she gets mixed with - e.g. Nick Drake) is that I would not like her party songs, no, no, I would not like them Sam I am.

I was not into this one. I am sure others may see it differently

Not really my Jam, still ok.

Was fine but wouldn’t race to listen to it again

Poetry set to renaissance tapestry. The first few minutes of each song are compelling but the repetition after minute 3 gets to be a burden. It’s certainly a creative and artistically styled album, but I wouldn’t call it good.

Only got through 3 songs. Too much medieval harp for my taste.

Listening to this on YouTube with the ads between songs is the way she’d have wanted it experienced

It for me.

I struggle with this hippy hoopy harpy music

I don't know about this one. I'm all for singer songwriters, I like the harp sound I think she has an interesting voice. Something is keeping from getting into this one. It feels very one dimensional, the songs all blur. It meanders along with no real direction. Could it be because it's only 5 really long songs? Possibly. It's interesting I guess, but no, just no.

It was weird

I struggled with her voice... I found that she was like a weird Bjork, Regina Spektor cross and it just wasn't for me... i also struggled with the length of some of the songs. I think if this album had been recorded by someone else I'd potentially have loved it...

Tooo folky for me. If you have ten minute long songs there has to be interesting parts. This just sounded like her wailing for ten minutes.

Can't get past that voice.

i assume this album must be an acquired taste, because the first two songs i found nearly unlistenable. I ended up acclimating to her vocals and coming around on the back half, but this was like listening to acoustic bjork to me, and the weird stumbling-down-the-stairs delivery rubs me the wrong way. Maybe the lyrics are particularly poetic? idk, I don't get it. 1.5

Music for people who censor words like "drugs" and "suicide".

At first, this one kind of pulled me in because it was so unique. I was getting a Battle of Evermore vibe, or like I accidentally put on an Elder Scrolls soundtrack. That novelty was cool for a minute, but it wore off pretty fast. I get the artistry, but I can also see why the harp peaked about 500 years ago. The syncopation between the vocals and the music felt off to me, and it made the whole thing harder to enjoy instead of more interesting.

What kind of horse shit is this anyway? The music was good, but was ruined by Joanna Newsom's terrible vocals.

It’s ok. I don’t like singers with that affectation in their voice. Other than that, it’s ok.

Too theatrical for me

Interesting but not for me.

Just a kerfuffle of sound. Did not enjoy.

While the lyrics can be quite cleverly constructed, her voice tends to grate as the album progresses. Apart from the odd change in instrumentation, it all seems pretty much similar throughout and there's little respite from that squeaky voice of hers. Not an album I'd return to. Maybe her later albums remedy this one but I can't bring myself to bother searching for them.

It’s not that the music is bad, but it’s rather boring to listen to this unstructured medieval musical tale

I was really not enjoying this album for the majority of it. It’s pretty in moments, but the lack of structure and high-pitched singing was getting on my nerves. But for some reason, the last song really came together to me. It still had some elements that were annoying me on earlier songs, but the harp riff at the beginning really drew me in, the lyrics were alluring, and I think I finally understood the appeal. I want to revisit this one later to see if it grows on me.

Meh

Schon ganz nett, aber auch ziemlich eintönig. Mich würde interessieren, ob mir bei Spotify die Songwechsel aufgefallen wären, sie sind es bei YouTube jedenfalls nicht. Ein endlos langer immer gleicher Song.

Fand ich zum Start sehr interessant und cool, aber es zog sich sehr schnell sehr lang. Mit mehr Stilwechseln über die 5(?) Titel wärs bestimmt etwas hörbarer.

Wenn David Bowie eine 5 ist, ist das eine 2.

When this album first started I was intrigued. 15 minutes in I started to wane. 30 minutes I was annoyed. 40 minutes in and I finally gave up. Her singing just never stops sounding exactly the same. This album is for theater kids that spend too much time at the Ren Faire.

A squeakier Macy Gray does medieval ballads. No discernable melodies, and a voice that is not pleasant to listen to. The one interesting bit was near the end of "Only Skin" where a deep bass voice joined in and their voices played together.

Tones And I hat sich in das Jahr 2006 gebeamt. Sorry, da bluten mir die Ohren.

Yeah this was a strange one. Lyrically she’s great but my god does she drone on. Her voice is a unique one and I feel like it’s a you love or it hate it situation. For me, I definitely leant more to that hate it side.

Not totally terrible but not my taste either. Vocal and folk wankery which is just as if not more pretentious as prog. At least prog is self aware enough to admit it’s pretentious.

If you've just listened to this, you need to go find the clip from over the garden wall for Miss Langtrees Lament. Cause its spot on. And also a ridiculous cartoon. In any case, this album was like if bjork married a woodland fairy and the baby made music. Its an album for elves. It does kind of qualify as music to hear before you die though.

There were moments in this album that I enjoyed, but I felt that it dragged on far too long. I do enjoy long tracks at times, but I don't believe that the fairytale magic here worked on me.

Strange, not super great, she doesn't even seem like that great of a singer, and I don't think I would want to listen to it again.

It’s not bad but the songs are too long. And it reminds me of Björk which is very bad.

This was interesting but not for me. I found the lyrics a bit too dense and while they sounded illustrative and thoughtful it was all just too much and went over my head. I just couldn’t connect with this and would like to revisit another time.

Litt Bjørk / Joni Mitchell i middelalderen + strykere. Blir veldig monotont i lengden.

Interesting music but I'm just not a fan of the alternative indie vocals. I couldn't finish the album.

Would be great at a renaissance festival.

Didnt get very far with this. The lyrics are interesting(ish) but the voice boils my swede. As i advance in years i find it easier to dismiss interesting voices. Not for me and i suspect it never will be.

Two stars, because one is reserved for acts with absolutely no musical talent. She has talent, but needs to be released into the woods.

Some beautiful moments on here, but they're just absolutely buried by twee, faux-intellectual, self-indulgement, cringey garbage. Her voice gets really grating after a while. I have tried for years to like this stuff and have come to the conclusion that I just don't.

If Bjork made a musical.

Not my style. ★★

I love the album cover, but the baby voice in cursive is hard to listen to.

Why is the shortest song on this album 7 mins long? At first I was like okay a folk album sweet ready for fall witchy vibes, but then I got bored. I actually had to stop listening because it was putting me to sleep while I was trying to work. I get that this is some people's vibe, just not mine.

N

but we have björk at home the björk at home

It's weird to say the least. I feel like it has a good story throughout the album but I'm not honestly sure the message. Very much folk music, it isn't mastered badly but not good enough to redeem itself completely. Behind the voices isn't too much instrumental, it's more-so a method of enhancing the story being told. Not my kind of music.

Not my cup of tea.

Reminds me of a Renaissance fair. 2 stars.

Respect for the clear talent, but the package is really difficult to get through at times.

Yikes!

Interesting instrumentation but didn't love her voice for sure.

Strange, but not bad

In short bits this could be listenable. I liked the music at points. I didn’t find the vocals repellent at all times. A lot of the time though. It was interesting but every track was just too much.

What is this? Sounds like an Adam Sandler comedy bit 2+-

dziwne sluchanie, album niedostepny na spotifaju, wiec wersja jutubowa, a jest to dziwne polaczenie bo folk, pani grajacej na harfie, dochodza do tego inne instrumenty i chorkowanie, ale centralnym elementem instrumentalnym jest wlasnie harfa, co nadaje nagraniu jakiejs bardowatosci, bo przypomina to cos co sie slyszy w gierkach gdy zachodzi sie do karczmy i elfie grajki umilaja ludzia wieczory opowiesciami, opowiesicami, bo na 55 minutowym albumie jest zaledwie 5 trakow, z czego jeden ma prawie 17 minut, wlasnie na only skinie poczulem jak bardzo kontent spiewano opowiadany gdzies omija mnie bokiem, bo nawet zaczytujac tekst jakos nie moge sklecic z tego nic, nie jest to jakis mega stary klasyk, bo rocznik 06, co jeszcze bardziej dziwi jak przebil sie do mainstreamu, czy sam ten klimat i unikalnosc wystarczyla, a moze jest tu tyle ukrytego znaczenia, ze kazdy cos dla siebie wygrzebie, a tylko mnie jakos nie wciaga, jak teraz widze te okladke, to sam art zapowiada jak nagranie bedzie upchane wszystkim i niczym jednoczesnie, ciezka to byla walka, bo nie wiem ile razy bylo replejowane zeby dosluchac, ale skonczone i nadal nie kupiony, ulubiona historia to o malpa i niedzwiadek, idzie na plejke z dziwnosciami z listy

I tried, I could not get behind the sound. I get it’s a very well written album but it requires a SERIOUS acquired taste. Not for me

good music, terible voice

I give her points for originality, but I don't need this in my life.

“Mom can we listen to Björk?” “We have Björk at home.” Björk at home:

I tried but the arrangements were all over the place

I'll never listen to this again. It's all too much. The vocal inflections, the orchestra, the theatrical lyrics make it hard to enjoy the album as a suite.

I’d been looking forward to this one because I didn’t know any of her music at all but I knew people really like her. No clue on the genre or anything. It turned out I hated this. I couldn’t stand her voice and every song sounded the same. Sad.

Well, this is a thing that happened. She really did that. Is she trying to be like Bjork? I made it like 25 minutes and I think I'm good. Thanks but no thanks.

very whine-y vocals, not a ton of dynamics/range

Not an artist I've heard of before so this was new. A sort of prog folk album with some very long songs. A bit inaccessible but some pleasant passages in many of the songs. Just not for me.

Not my type

Bit Bjorky, all orchestral and dramatic and taking unexpected turns. About 10-20 % was great when everything worked in sync but a lot of the time it seemed to be random ideas thrown together. Largely interesting but not worth a second listen. 2.5.

Certainly interesting, probably more interesting than good. Although, I didn't particularly dislike it, it's just a bit too different for me to really enjoy it. Parts reminded me a little of Fiona Apple, 1 song in particular more of Bjork. Think sawdust and diamonds was probably my favourite 2

Zelda-sec at times, beautiful composition but not my cup of tea.

Going to start by giving Newsom some credit here- she definitely tried and succeeded to make whatever it was she wanted to make with this album. Whether or not that's a good thing is a little more open to interpretation. As you can probably tell by that comment, I didn't particularly enjoy this very much. It was weird in a way I couldn't get into, and it felt like that was the point more than anything- being weird/different just to be weird/different. If harp is her main instrument, and folk singing is her main style, then that's more than fine. But it sounded like she didn't want people to think it's fine on her behalf, so she did a bunch of stuff to make it seem not fine. But then is also telling you it actually is fine, you just don't get it. That's a lot of assumption on my part, but I guess something about it has that pretentious/privileged vibe to me. Which in my mind doesn't really gel with the folk ideology, a separate issue. Perhaps it just means I really don't "get" it. I think she likely had a little too much freedom to do what she wanted with the whole thing. It sounds like she had ideas that should've been separated into a number of different songs instead of being crammed into one, or at least pared down and made more cohesive. If someone had been there to reign her in on it, I think it would've been more manageable. There's a fine line between hampering creativity and tasteful direction, so maybe that was a sticking point too. What she made instead sounds like a weird combination of bard's tale/ren faire/folk poetry. On a more positive note, there were little snippets here and there that I enjoyed a lot. At least one part of Emily and a later portion of Only Skin stood out to me as enjoyable and interesting. They made me think there's a version of this that I would like quite a bit. But those parts were buried in the rest of what was going on, making it hard to give them too much attention. I think that was part of my issue; there was just too much musical rambling going on for me. I'm trying to use this as list an exercise to broaden my tastes and learn to appreciate different styles/artists more, but I don't think this one is going to win me over. Taking my own feelings out of it, I can say Newsom accomplished something interesting and memorable here. I don't find it very good, though. Overall: 1.8/5

Lyrical, ren-faire-ish music. Bjork adjacent, but doesn't hit the same. She has a good voice, but not for me, 2* Not giving it 1* because I didn't hate it like some other albums on here, but I never need to listen to this again.

More cowbell! I mean, more harp! Good Lord, call me a philistine, but I just don’t get this. Another reviewer saying that she sounds like Carol Kane impersonating Regina Spektor would be funnier if it weren’t true. There are some real “nails-on-the-chalkboard” moments here. And the album is nearly 56 minutes long, consisting of only five songs…you do the math! Needless to say, I couldn’t get all the way through any of these. The snobs can keep this one; I give it two generous stars.

Her parents didn't let her listen to the radio or watch TV to protect her from "stupid stuff," so she married Andy Samberg--there's a cautionary tale for you. Anyway, this was excruciating. Could she try writing an actual song? And maybe do a little less wailing?

not for me right now

Dad- 2 Mom- 5 Mike- 2 Lori- 3 Michael- 5 Miles- NA Cole- 6 Avg- 3.83

This has been weighing me down and I have out this off for a while since it’s not on Spotify. I really was hopeful after while starting the first song. Medieval country with interesting Joni Mitchell (a harmonic at times) type singing. But the voice grew grating and I didn’t care to much for the music. Sad.

Unnecessary. Has a Bjork-ish quality to it. Which isn’t a compliment.

I feel like her voice is an acquired taste. Not for me at the moment. Maybe later. Two stars

DNF. Probably genius, just don’t get it. Will not return to it.

I just couldn't get into this one at all. It was just like one long string of random thought that just kept going and going. The music had a very medieval aethereal feel that I could enjoy. Her lyrics and voice were just so off and out of place.

I appreciate the creativity of her lyrics and the artistry and soul in her performance. But this largely feels like a storybook being read/sung, and it's not a story I want to hear again. Her voice got annoyingly grating by the second song, and this was a slog to get through.

Pretty boring. Voice is kind of annoying. End part of first song sucks. Despite the instrumentals constantly changing they never become interesting. Voice feels more and more grating as this goes on. I’m not listening past the second song. This is so boring.

The cursive singing is hard to take and the tunes of the first three are uninteresting, but if you focus on the pretty instrumentals it's nice. Only Skin is pretty good, in parts. The end with the other singer reminded me of Hadestown. I like "I love you truly or I love no one". Cosmia - cool name and the most cohesive tune-wise throughout. Liked it.

I don't know what I am listening to and these songs are way too long. Personal enjoyment: 2/5 Relevance to this list: 2/5

Frankly her voice is annoying.

This album is a cute for insomnia

The album isn't really my cup of tea but I could sea some of the songs possibly working in movies or if I was in the right mood. The string instruments occasionally sounded confusing or didn't match up with the rest of the song as did the lyrics, although her vocals weren't bad.

Narrow niche for this... Not my cup of tea. But very satisfying to reach out to new forms of song expressions.

Another unnecessarily long album, and the first folk album I’ve gotten that I didn’t enjoy. Every song sounded pretty much the same and nothing really stood out to me. And I don’t feel the singer’s voice matches this style of music.

Can't get into it, as much as one's tried. Lacks flows and variety. Seems more Carol Kane than Kate Bush. Maybe one should try another of her records.

Too Björky for me

Cant listen to this. Gives me a headache. But hear ELP, Yes, and other art rock in here, and it appears earlier than what sounds good to my ears.

I can hear that there is music on here that I could like quite a lot. Unfortunately, none of it works for me in this context.

I want to like this album. I've read the reviews. I've watched Joanna and Andy Sandberg be adorable together. I've consumed harp lady content on youtube. I'm here and ready to like it this damn album as much as i like the orbit of culture swirling around it. But... I just don't get it. It doesn't click with me. I've tried to get into it several times over the years (including today). And I feel nothing. I think i'm actually starting to hate it? Which is the opposite feeling I want. Note: it's no small task checking out this album. It's not on streaming. You have to listen to it on Youtube. In this media landscape, that's insane. Why god won't this album connect with my brain? I've put in the time. I've done the work. I deserve to like this hour long folk harp oddesy... but I just don't. I will say this attempt has given me some clarity on why I kind of hate this album. I'm sad to say... it's her voice. It's grating and sorta childish. I can't handle it. It's like nails on a chalkboard to me most of the time. I can't even engage with the lyrics. I just feel annoyed by the voice. The best I can say about her vocals is that on the final song, Cosmia, there are a few nice refrains that didn't bother me. The rest is rough... especially track 1. On that song, her voice has ice-pick in the ear energy. I don't know how I didn't come to this realization the first 5 times I listened to this album. Perhaps i was blinded by hope and optimism, but now as a crotchety old man i see this thing for what it is... a beautiful folk classical instrumental album with a snotty 10 year old girl ranting over top, bringing down the vibe. What the hell man? I do hope that someday they release an instrumental version of this album. I think it would be a very nice listening experience, very pretty. Fingers crossed. Also, why the hell are the songs so long. There are only 5 damn songs on this thing and it's almost an hour long. That is a lot of pressure to put on 5 songs. I just don't think it works for me. It's probably a 1.5... but i'll give it a 2 for Andy.

2/5

I couldn’t find the whole album which I think was a good thing

Not my cup of tea. I can hear the expression just don't want to hear any of this.

Bjork's protege.... Rambling flow of consciousness song writing, pretty harp music with weak vocals

Not really music, more like poetry. Not very listenable. bumped to 2 for the writing.

It’s like the wish version of Bjork.

As others have stated, the voice is pretty off-putting. It just seems so artificial and weirdly impersonating a 1920's female movie star. It's not as bad as others make it out to be, and the backing instruments are kind of cool but it's tough to make it through the entire thing. 4.25/10 (2.125/5)

I will admit I did not listen to most of this. The music itself is fine but this woman's voice is borderline unbearable.

"What if we made a Bjork album not featuring Bjork with a harpist from California?"

nao é pra mim

The vocals are shrill and harsh. The music lacks melody or cohesion. I think the songwriting is great. But the lack of interesting musicality undermines it all. It feels indulgent and purposefully obtuse. I can’t imagine listening to this and being like “this is what I need more of!” Things like this make me appreciate artists who challenge norms yet make interest and good music - like Tori Amos, David Byrne, David Bowie, PJ Harvey, etc. Escaped the 1 star realm only because the songwriting is strong and I think there’s some legitimate artistry here. But it made it just barely.

Not the cursive 💀 would be good if she wasn't singing.

Just really not my thing, very pretentious and with a voice that is pretty grating.

Bjork in the middle ages

een nobele onbekende... werd een onnobele bekende

What was this? It was interesting and weird for sure but not something I'd ever put on or subject anyone too. Gets a 2nd star for the sheer ambitious weirdness

2.5

2.6

I feel like this is one of those albums that I’m supposed to like, but I just can’t get into it.

Sounded liking howling.

It feels like Joanna was trying way too hard to have every song be some long, epic tale. Unfortunately, it is often true that using fewer words to say more is a valuable skill, one that is sorely lacking on this album.

Hoo boy, that was a tough one.

Nope

This was pretty adorable. It sounded like Bjork reading a children's story with orchestral accompaniment. Cute as hell.

Did not enjoy. 2/5

Palloso, non tremendo

not on spotify did not listen thorughly

ok, not fantastic, just ok

слишком фолк с переливами, не нравится такое

Proof that the ability to play an instrument doesn't mean you should sing and write music as well. 2 stars for the harp, but I really want to give it one.

Boring

I preferred the rare moments without vocals.

I enjoyed the instrumental arrangements even if they were overly long and meandering, but to listening to her voice was very challenging for me. While the lyrics may irritate, I'm familiar with the Medieval ballad structure that Joanna is using to frame her songs. It is not disturbed Disney, as I have read some call it. Medieval ballads were not the love songs that we refer to when we use the term ballad in the modern parlance. They are stories, often epic ones, told in song that often don't use a rhyming structure we would recognize today. When I was young, I read a ton of the Robin Hood medieval ballads that were structured this way. While I am sympathetic to her process, and commend her for the effort, I don't find the quirky result charming. I think if these were edited down into the most potent bits and sang by someone else I would probably enjoy it more. Her singing often feels unintentionally disconnected from her subject matter. I love me some unique voices, often to the point I have convince others to give them a chance, but this is a bridge too far.

What is this? It's got a baroque, renaissance vibe and sounds like it could be a soundtrack to something. The singer's voice is teetering on the edge of annoying and it's a bit hard to get past. This album is very unique and kind of weird. Part of me finds it kind of interesting from a sense of curiosity but it's not something that I enjoyed or would ever want to hear again.

5/10

This was hard to get through because I was so bored

She definitely has a very unique voice and vocal style albeit it can be annoying and overpowering. Her voice takes away something from the song’s quality that is hard to replace or ignore. Hard to listen to.

wasn't worth finding on YouTube....

I feel like I should like this more than I do, but the songs are too long and too...twee. I'm sure I'd enjoy it more if I relistened and really focused on the lyrics, but it didn't draw me in for a second spin.

This is music that is OK to date, but you'd never want to marry.

This album is not on Spotify but I found the full album on YouTube. An interesting mixture of musical styles - Wikipedia gives the genre as Progressive Folk / Indie Folk / Baroque Pop / Avant-Pop / Indie Rock! Not bad, but I don't like her quirky vocal style and find it annoying.

It was listenable which is more that I thought I would say given the bravery of the experimentation and the genre I don't seek out.

Weird. like a cross between Bjork (on a good day), Enya, and Kate Bush. Not for me, but it was growing on me.

Weird

Lo sufrí mucho. No es que sea el peor disco que he escuchado en esta lista, de hecho la música y arreglos orquestales están muy padres, pero hijole, la voz de la dama es muy irritante. Lo mejor fue leer los reviews de los usuarios aquí y morirme de la risa. Pero la verdad no es un disco al que jamás vaya a volver y ruego porque sea el único de la señora en la lista.

Not for me. Didn't care enough to finish.

Strange and not for me.

The lyrics and melodies are mostly good, but overshadowed by the vocals

Would be greatly improved were it fully instrumental or sung by someone else! I like all kinds of voices, many unconventional, but hers really grates on me. This somehow made me think of Mary Margaret O'Hara so I listened to 'Miss America', now there's an album.

This just doesn’t click with me. There is potential and artistic vision, but I hit a bit of a Tom Waits-type wall when trying to listen to this. Not for me, but not devoid of interesting ideas.

Björk meets Tones and I? Ys is an intriguing and conflicting album. The strings arrangements are quite lovely. It’s trying to sound much older than it is, which it sort of achieves, but suffers from her irritating goo-goo baby voice. She’s like a millennial bard. Artistically there’s something there, and the lyrics are quite ambitious and vivid in imagery, but I can’t get on board with it. After a few minutes I was annoyed. I’d like this a lot more if it was an instrumental.

Uuuuuuuh…umh…okay allora Ho dibattuto per settimane su che voto dare per diversi motivi. Innanzitutto non mi è piaciuto tanto e la cosa mi rattrista molto. Intanto è un artista femminile che mi piacerebbe fossero più apprezzate in sta lista ma a parte quello si vede che ha fatto una scelta creativa coraggiosa e fuori dagli schemi. La voce è quella che è, non mi ha fatto impazzire, non so nemmeno perché. È strana ma Björk non è da meno. Comunque anche risentendolo non clicca, quindi non posso che dare 2

I opened the album on Spotify yesterday and now it's gone. I am not sure why it loaded yesterday because Joanna Newsom hasn't had her music on Spotify for a long time but I am just confused as to why it loaded yesterday. I listened to the album on Youtube but overall, it wasn't too exciting. Nothing too great happened and just overall a bit meh. It alright as a background listen though. It was released in 2006 but it had this Broadway vibe but the old-school early 2000s vibe.

This is just... not my jam. A warbly Bjork type voice, and the lyrics are kinda meh and drag on and on.

I hope this album was somehow meaningfully therapeutic for Ms. Newsom. For me, it was just 55 minutes that I'll never get back.

Not for me. I found this too artsy and difficult to listen to. I'm also not really into her voice, I kind of get Bjork vibes.

I honestly find Joanna Newsom's voice extremely grating and annoying, I don't know what it is, sorry. The instrumentality is undoubtly great, I just can't deal with her voice, it's like if they tried to make American Bjork but it doesn't work

I did not enjoy her wailing tone and interminable same-sounding instrumentation. I could see this being an acquired taste, but I don’t think I’ll put the effort in to acquiring it

Pretty dreadful. I can't stand her baby voice.

Not on Spotify, found on YouTube, it was a folky delight

Not my style of music, but sounds good and sure is innovative.

really wished i liked this! the instrumentals were nice, but i don’t think i care for her voice that much. it reminds me of björk’s voice, who i love, so i’m not sure why i don’t connect with joanna’s? maybe in time i’d warm up to this, but i don’t see myself returning to it any time soon.

This album was a bit much. It has a folk/fairytale kind of vibe. I could appreciate the direction of where this album was going but the vocals were a bit over the top. Also felt the album was a little longer than it needed to be. The sound got to be a little repetitive by the end.

Björk and Fiona Apple mashup. I don't care much for the harp..

Just an annoying voice.

Day253 - apparently big with the indie crowd it sounds like something you would hear if you were visiting castles in westeros

I loved the harps and the storytelling was top tier...but my overall enjoyment of this album suffered mostly because of her singing style. Maybe I would have been able to ignore it if this album wasn't so voice-driven; the singer is the main focus and it really takes me out of the experience. It's a shame, 'cause the vibe is almost magical. 2.5 stars

Reminds me of Bjork, not for me!!

As this wasn’t available on my preferred streaming platform, I’m unable to comment or rate this (therefore will go with a 2) but sometimes I think that’s maybe a blessing in disguise?

Took me a few days to realise this was on Amazon music, then I quickly realised this wasn’t for me.

Oh boy. This was way too long. The vocals were way too "quirky" most of the time but there were some moments where I kind of liked her singing. The harp did sound pretty nice for the most part. Overall the vocals and sheer length of the songs really killed this album for me. Maybe more listens would make me appreciate it more? I'm just not sure I want another go around.

Her voice is somewhere between ok and cheese grater to my ears. The way she says "darling" and plenty of other words really gets on my nerves. The harp music is ok though. 2/5

Nothing about this is remotely interesting to me, but we’ll see how this goes…oh okay, we’ve got the theatre kid version of Janis Joplin here. I like the grating scratchy quality I’m hearing in her voice, but these songs are weird as fuck. This is not a world I want to get lost in. I’m assuming she’s heavily inspired by Nick Cave and is trying to do something very similar to his more theatrical and conceptual work. This was an odd one, but not the kind of odd I want.

This was…odd.

Medieval influenced Twee-pop. Less twee than her previous, but still too tonally sharp for me to enjoy.

I remember when every music magazine at the time was tripping over themselves to throw accolades on this record. Not my thing

Phew, glad this is over. It started alright... interesting voice, the courage to make long (about 10') songs anno 2024. But I got tired of it really quickly and it was a struggle to finish the album. If you have a very characteristic voice it helps to vary the actual songs, ore use your voice differently, but she doesn't. All songs are long and sound the same (actually, in that sense an album of fifty 1' songs would not have sounded much different). Folky, same singing style, same sprinkle of harp (it doesn't help I'm nor really into folk any more and don't like harp). I'll give it a 2 because it is not without merit. Bur definitely not a must-hear album for me.

An album that should be right up my alley, but one I can't get behind no matter how many times I give it a try. This one just doesn't work for me. 1.5/5

The first song is an ode to a friend. A love letter... At least that's my perception. It's easy to get lost in the story telling. And in the end, it didn't capture my imagination. The music, with it's harps and other strings, seems dated. Tough to carry this through.

Una voz demasiado aguda para mi gusto. El arpa es original pero el conjunto es ligeramente irritante pese a todo.

So, this was wierd. Not sure what to classify it as. Now I like long songs, but these just meander all over the place lyrically, and musically, just going on and on. 14 minutes for 1 song. I also didn't care for her vocals, lots of warbling all over the place. This wasn't for me

Honestly, I have heard her voice before so I expected to absolutely despise this album and find no positives to it however I thought the music was actually very lovely. Her voice to put it plainly was insufferable however getting past that it was folky and nice.

Erikoinen, mut ihan ok. Kakkosta enempää ei kuitenkaan pysty antaa

Cannot tolerate that voice.

not listened, not available

oof. swing and a miss.

I am not the target audience. I feel I would appreciate this if I was watching live, but would not choose to listen to it outside of that. The playing is very cool, but I don’t care for the writing or singing.

Folk..Ei freak folk... meikän lemppareista ei.... Barokki poppi.. Björk tyylistä jälkiuninaa.....

1. Meh/bra, 2. dårlig/meh, 3. dårlig/meh, 4. meh, 5. dårlig Overall: 5/10

While talented, the songs are all very long and lose some of their luster by minute 8.

Not my favorite

There is a certain beauty, however the music trudges along and the vocals are unpleasant.

I can’t imagine anybody spinning this record because they love it - Maybe her mom. It’s not terrible, it’s just not what anyone wants to listen to. Her voice isn’t bad, but I’d rather listen to just about anything else.

Blind album and artist. Harp was a nice touch but not enough to carry this album out. Unique in a lot of ways but I felt it was too slow and dragged, and I did not feel touched or impacted in anyway like I felt the album tried to do.

Haven't heard from her before. The album made me curious. Didn't find time to get into it. Will do in the future.

I read a review of this that sums up my feelings: „Original is one thing, worth doing another.“ Sure, ethereal pastoral orchestral harpy songs were new to me. But they weren’t exactly missing from my life either.

like a satire of the Millennial folk movement: instead of the gentle guitar arpeggios, bring out a giant harp. ramble along in an affected voice begging to have the lyrics described as 'literate'. I'd say it sounds exactly like the album cover, but it isn't Pentangle. not as bad as it could be. the chord progression and melody in a section of Emily are the same as some other song that'll be half-stuck in my head trying to remember. albums: hated. (⌐■_■)

I haven’t got the patience for Joanna. That is a me problem. It’s really quite lovely, but my ears just wander off. I like that she makes music that sounds like it should have been mastered on wax cylinders.

kinda similar to Manassas. glad that this came to me, and that i was given the opportunity to listen. its a unique album for sure, and i don't think that i would have found this without doing this. the harp and instrumentals are super beautiful, but Joanna's voice gets a bit grating after a while. it was... fine. probably not something i go back to, but glad i had a chance to listen

Am I in a 1950s Disney movie? Am I walking through a Renaissance Fair? Is this the 21st Century version of Kate Bush? We may never know. I’m not gonna say all experimental music is bad, but I am gonna say there are more times than not that I’d rather not be a part of the experiment. The different instruments featured are a highlight, especially the harp sections. For the most part I find her singing voice pretty soothing, except for the shrieking here and there. This is probably the first album to truly benefit from the post-Kollaps listen, so it’s not a one, but I’d also honestly hear arguments about it being a three.

It’s like a good singer at a bad renaissance fair.

it was fine.very fine

5 temas y 55 minutos. Esto promete. No está en Spotify. Producido por Albini. Es una acústica, folk, con arpa, que suena bien musicalmente y la voz de la cantante a ratos un poco Björk también encaja a la perfección. Interesante. La última canción sin ser la más larga me ha parecido insufrible.

Too long. Not on Spotify which is kind of inconvenient. Saw some reviews ab this feeling bjork-y. I agree I guess. Like they don’t sound the exact same obviously but if we are drawing parallels that’s a good parallel to draw. Anyhoo i don’t enjoy bjork and didn’t enjoy this. 4.5/10

4/10 - She sounds like Bjork but with a better voice. The songs are just weird and the only thing I can relate it to is Bjork. One of the songs ended decently but the weird voice and random instruments at times feel like Bjork. Also one of the youtube comments said she opened for Bjork which is kinda funny to me. The end of the last song was also quite strange and did not end in a way that sounded like an ending. I think I rated vespertine by Bjork too high.

Didnt love the way she did the vocals. Her voice was good and the music was fine but she kept doing weird stuff with her intonation that got annoying

Kind of sounds like modern yodeling 2

I’ve never heard of Joanna Newsom before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from this album. I found this album to be really beautiful musically, but it wasn’t really my cup of tea. The arrangements were absolutely beautiful (RIP Steve Albini), and every element of the instrumentals was really well done. There were plenty of emotions conveyed just through the music alone. The songwriting was really beautiful as well, and there was a lot to unpack lyrically. There’s plenty of vivid imagery and allusions to mythological stories to turn over in your mind, and I imagine that this would be a great album to revisit numerous times. However, I really hated the vocals on this album. There’s something about Joanna Newsom’s voice that I just can’t stand. I think it’s because her voice sounds like it’s constantly on the verge of being scratchy, and it just drives me insane. Hearing those vocals over the course of five very long songs was not a fun listening experience. I can understand why this album would be on this list, but it really wasn’t for me.

grates after a while, only so much middle ages warbling a man can take

Not on Spotify

I just couldn’t with this. Did make it all the way through though which is no mean feat given Iit was on YouTube. Reminded me of Björk but I really struggled to tolerate her voice at times. 2 because of the orchestration and musicianship on display

Ugh, more whiney singing. Guess it is not in my wheelhouse. Sorry not sorry for not liking this album. 1 star maybe 2 stars if I am feeling generous tomorrow.

This is what you get when you let rich people think they can make good music

Folk 1 Stern Tolle Stimme und mal Folk mittelalterlich verpackt: Stern 2

Too different for my ears

I don't know any other works of Joanna, but this is just too much. The singing often doesn't fit the lyrics, and the rapid changes in pitch are done out of context. Speaking of the lyrics: they are ok, but nowhere near Shakespearean. The orchestration seems to be meant to support the singing and the lyrics but is sometimes distractingly off in both regards. I think it would have served the songs well when they removed the orchestra completely or at least reduced it significantly as the harp itself can carry these songs alone. Then, there is the length of the tracks. Barely having some kind of structure, it is tedious to listen to.

Well done , but too long and Boring... Doesnt think that Belong here .