Ys

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 .

Yeah I should not have listened to this before bed. The remaining minutes of this album keep me from slumber but yet I am trapped here for what feels like eternity. This album sounds like the song a modern Disney character would sing before they're cut off. Or did I just make up a film trope to cope? Hey that rhymes. As you can see I'm finding it very hard to focus on this music at all. A 16 minute mostly harp + poetry song will do that to a tired creature. This thing isn't dreadful, it sounds fine. If you like this, more power to you. I, however, will not be back. fav songz: - The Shortest One

So sad

Long, boring, and grating.

At times this was a bit Björk and a bit Keaton Henson, a bit Renaissance fair and film track material. But every song was waaaaaaay too long and what started out as ‘interesting’ or intriguing lost me halfway through.

Thought during first song: Music to accompany an old silent, black-and-white film. Overall impression was that it was strange and reminded me a bit of Bjork. I didn’t exactly dislike it but I also have no desire to learn more about her or listen again.

I can state, for the record, that I cannot abide schizophrenic rambling folk accompanied by incessant string arrangements. Newsom's childlike delivery with the bonus "Winehouse" affect helped none at all. I didn't enjoy this.

There is something about this whimsical, fairy, harpy storytelling sound that grates on my nerves. Her affected accent is too contrived for me to actually hear anything but my teeth grinding and shoulders getting tight. This ain't Björk.

I was excited for this because I learned to like Only Skin by listening on repeat. But it was so annoying

Not my music

Today's album is like indie folk maybe? The songs are full of metaphor, string accompaniment (sometimes dipping their toes into jazz a bit), and weird time signatures. It's like dropping acid at a Renaissance Fair. It's like if Joni Mitchell and Bjork had a kid. The lyrics for the song Monkey & Bear are fucked... "Someone had told him the bear'd been sneaking away To the seaside caverns, to bathe And the thought troubled the monkey For he was afraid of spelunking Down in those caves, also afraid what the Village people would say if they saw the bear in that state Lolling and splashing obscenely Well, it seemed irrational, really Washing that face, washing that matted and flea-bit pelt In some sea-spit-shine old kelp dripping with brine But monkey just laughed, and he muttered When she comes back, Ursula will be bursting with pride Till I jump up saying, You've been rolling in muck Saying, You smell of garbage and grime" That's too complicated for me. I don't like music where you need a PhD to understand what they're singing about. This is music for hipsters to listen to and analyze to death while drinking a mocha-choca-chino latte 100%. This was just way too weird for me. Favourite songs: Emily, Sawdust and Diamonds Least favourite songs: Monkey & Bear, Cosmia 2/5

Great compositions and a strong, emotional delivery. The only hurdle for me is her voice. It's not necessarily about not liking the tone but more that it doesn't feel authentic.

Oldschool Runescape soundtrack goes harder. 4/10

it was a bit much :/ I couldn't really get into it

I think Joanna Newsom is the artist I'm most supposed to like based off my other tastes, but I just can't do it. The baby voiced renaissance sound just isn't for me. 2/5

I *want* to like this. The orchestration, the uniqueness of it all. It's just that, while her voice is interesting and intriguing at times, it's jarring and annoying to me just as often. I don't hate it but it's not for me.

Not really my thing

Tekisi mieli antaa tunnustus artistin melodiantajulle. Hankalaa - hän on sen verran seonnut kiuruihin ja muuhun rekvisiittaan.

Original but ,,,,

Aburrido

I respect it, but I also hated it.

The woman's voice ruins all the pretty music. It probably deserves a 1/5 based on how much I enjoyed it, but the last 1/5 I gave was Limp Biskit, and the passion and sincerity of this should not be anywhere near that stank.

At first I was entirely furious about this album. Her voice felt insufferable, why do certain women folk singers put on this voice. It's really strange. Very very long songs which felt unnecessary, wrap it up. Was annoyed to see someone compared her lyrics to Dylan in the YouTube comments, come on! She was rambling on with little coherence and sometimes complete predictability. But I did decide I appreciated more about it, like the guitar playing and some of the chord sequences. Tried to focus on that over the vocals and it was less awful

The moment this album started I thought to myself - everyone is going to absolutely hate this. I will say, it's hard to get into. There's no musical convenience, no hooks, no catchy lyrics. But there's something in this album that is worth listening to. I certainly have never listened to an album like it before, and that alone is worth some merit. It's beautiful, endearing at points, symphonic, and made me think about what I was hearing.

While I think the poetry like lyrics are good for the most part, and the backing tracks are fun instrumentals, this style CANNOT carry a song for the lengths of these tracks. It’s not that good honestly and gets boring.

Was not avail in Spotify for some reason. I refuse to do any further digging. So what? I’m lazy.

Her voice is annoying but the music is lovely

Очень скучно

Pretentious

I can see why it's no longer available on Spotify. ..

Too weird for me and not on Spotify. VDP is a weird dude. Kind of interesting, but all weird.

Only could make it through the first marathon song. Folk needs something to pair with it. Folk country, folk rock…plain folk sounds like music from a Hobbit movie

It has some moments, but It is really boring.... 2/5

I have been putting this off for literally 100 days because it wasn't on Spotify and based off of the album cover and song lengths/titles, I assumed it was fairy renaissance faire music with lots of lutes and harps, which I wasn't about to go above and beyond to listen to. But, Steve Albini died today, and I saw that he had produced this album, so in his honor I finally got around to listening to it. It is pretty much exactly what I expected. See above description. I wanted to like this but just didn't. I gave it an extra star for the Steve Albini hand in it but if the maker of this list felt the need to include this album, then the list better have Big Black's album Songs About Fucking, because that album rocks and is an industrial masterpiece and partially helped define the industrial genre. Steve Albini was a great influence on music and produced some great albums, including Pixies Surfer Rosa, Nirvana In Utero, and The Breeders Pod. Unfortunately, I wouldn't include this album in the pantheon of his best work and would recommend you go listen to anything else that he's worked on.

Good examples of why this project is fun. Not that I want to listen to it again. Bjorkish voice, plus harp and strings.

Nope. Es decir, aprecio el arte, el talento y la visión de un disco como este, pero no lo disfruté. ¿5 canciones en casi una hora? No estoy de ánimo.

Not an easy album. Too many lyrics for my liking. Goes from full orchestration to single guitar seems a bit forced.

So over-rated it hurts

Det här är både lite jobbigt och lite bra samtidigt. Känns som att texterna är bärande här men jag hade tyvärr inte möjlighet att lyssna så intensivt och då vägde det icke-melodiösa/jobbiga tyngst i betyget.

This is really interesting but with some caveats; she has a nice voice but it's a bit grating over a long piece of work. The music behind it is delightful but in the context of the whole thing being quite reminiscent of musical theatre or a production of some kind. And that would be a pretty good vehicle for it, but I have no connection with it or a story to associate it with, so its impact is limited. Can only give it a 2 because I wouldn't listen again without something to give it meaning to.

Started out disliking this - one, it's not on Spotify, and two, she's got a voice that really rubs me up the wrong way. That doesn't change, the medieval kinda vibe also doesn't help. But there is something about it. Probably more her than it - I do quite like the wandering way in which it's put together, and there's something about her storytelling that I like too. Would be interested to hear a different album by her, but didn't so much like this one. 2/5.

Annoying that it’s not available on Spotify. She’s very talented. Really only know her song “The Sprout and the Bean” which is not on this. This album is a very specific mood. Ok. I appreciate her musicianship. This is a very unique piece of work. But I don’t see this as worthy of a list like this. Set aside the fact that I hate baby voice singing. There just isn’t enough here. It would have been better to put Dorothy Ashby in her place. Her work was far more influential and impressive. I’m not mad at Newsom. I’m fucking pissed at seeing more white nonsense when black excellence is right there. Abandoning this warbling renn faire shit and putting on Afro-Harping instead. This is where it’s at.

This was definitely a unique album. I found the modern baroque harp music to be interesting. Not quite sure how much I like it but it has elements that take you back to a different world. I’d say that alone is impressive. I don’t love the high tone of newsomes voice. Overall this album is good but I couldn’t listen to it more than a couple times. 5.4/10

Not really my kind of music and listening to her voice makes me somewhat uncomfortable. Won't go there again

Much more in the experimental instrumental camp as opposed to experimental vocals – it's clear Newsom can sing and write well, but these expansive Scarborough Fair-esque tracks need a lot more than some good poetry to hold attention for up to 17 minutes at a time. Found myself constantly slipping away and having to bring my attention back to the music given how utterly dull the instrumentals became near the end of several lengthier tracks.

Nope

This is certainly something you don't hear every day. I'm not sure what it is or what to think about it, but it's certainly quite experimental and folksy. It hits the Ren-Faire feel for sure. It's not for me, but I can see the merits in it and can see what people like about it.

Thoroughly uninterested.

Ik vond het af en toe niet zo zuiver gezongen, tot soms wat vals. De folkmuziek was wel oké

You have to absolutely give it up for any album described as being ‘extremely difficult to listen to’

Ehh ikke min stil. Smukt nok akkompagnement, men hvorfor handler sangene om villages osv når de er skrevet i 2006 af en amerikaner? Flexer også vokalen lige lovlig meget med falset konstant

Weird album. And not in a good way. 2/5

Naarmate het vorderde werd die stem steeds irritanter. Te arty-farty voor mijn smaak.

Mwa. Begon positief maar werd vervelend na verloop van tijd.

Strikingly unique voice but I cannot say really enjoy it.

4/10. Yeah, another one where it's not really bad, but I don't like her singing much, especially for a full hour.

boring

She has a great folk, story-telling voice. It's just that the stories don't make any sense and are too long. She drew me in, just couldn't hold my attention.

Joanna sounds like a 9 year old trying to sound like a 90 year old imitating a 9 year old. If you think reading Ulysses is a good use of your time, you'd have a blast trying to decipher the meaning of the gibberish coming out of her mouth. But the ambition is admirable. 2 spiders’ ghosts hanging, soaked and dangling silently from all the blooming cherry trees out of 5 🕷🕷

Too weird will not revisit

I love the concept. But her pronunciation just drove me nuts.

Very improvisational feel. I wish there was more backing her, singing like she was out in the open was very vulnerable, and it made it hard to listen. The songs being so long made it tough, too. I know I had to check the status bar to see how much was left on each song, and that's never good. Strangely enough, the longest song felt like it took the least amount of time. In the end, I did not like it, but I give her props for doing something more unique than I usually hear. It's a novel idea, but wore thin after the first few minutes.,

Whole album sounds like one song.

Borde gilla det här men njae.

Similar to an itch on the bottom of your foot that tickles when you scratch it. This album is unique and strong at the beginning. And, over time JNs voice and my love for it waned before it became bothersome and irritating. On the outside, a folksy singer with a high-pitched raspy and some whimsical voice singing extra long ballads with a harp sounds intriguing, yet in reality this album was an exercise in tolerance. I did make it through, but I am not going to listen to this again.

Musically this is well made, if unremarkable. That vocal is dreadful though, and really does not work with this style of music. There are far worse albums, but there are also much better folk albums if this is what you're looking for. I have no interest in hearing this again. Fave Songs: None

Didn't think much of this

Not valid

Tedious. This was tedious. Every song sounds exactly the same. Pretty great harp player though.

perfect for sampling pain to listen to. bla bla bla

Slow harp stuff. Not for me.

Not really for me 2 stars