Ys

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.

Looks and sounds like an act at the Renn Faire that really loves her job. Her vocals are very weird and it’s a hard space to play in for around an hour

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

The naughts was a golden era for indie music and some of my favourite groups appeared during this period. There was also some really off the wall stuff with pretty freaky schreechy vocals, like Cocorosie, Neutral milk honey and Joanna Newsom. Newsom sounds very similar to Cocorosie but whereas I really like Cocorosie despite their quirky vocals Newsom just doesn’t do it for me. I couldn’t get into her music back then and I still can’t I’m afraid.

fake US folk, written by someone who no doubt considers coloured hair and walking barefoot kooky. Did have an open mind as quite like folk and some of the songs have a nice rhythm to them, but overall it's a no. 2

Not sure how this is classified? Chamber pop, classical, Baroque, music from a different era? Regardless, she clearly is talented and this music obviously must have an audience, but it isn't music that appeals to me in the slightest. Interesting, but not enough to explore anymore.

One admires the effort and acute angle of originality – and the bringing the harp into the rock and role lexicon – far more than one enjoys the actual music, which is overly arty and strange, with annoying vocals in the Kate Bush- Laurie Anderson territory. One struggles, ultimately, to get into it, to like it as much one is inclined to. And so one concludes that this will be remembered mainly as an oddity, interesting but inaccessible and forbidding for some. Editors overpraise this – by patting themselves on the back for letting their preconceptions go – but the payoff just isn't here. Best bit might be Bill Callahan's appearance (speaking of unconventional oddities).

som bem elaborado, mas xaropao

I didn't listen to every single lyric which I feel is the point of that album. The harp was pretty cool throughout the entire thing. Her voice and singing cadence made me uncomfortable at times. When that guy started singing on Only Skin that was pretty much the only change in musical notes that I noticed in the whole album. Would definitely not listen to this album while on any sort of drug at all

I remember trying to listen to this awhile back because the only thing I know about this broad is she's married to Andy Samberg. Definitely not as funny as Andy Samberg. I can see how this would be for some people but it is not for me. Might be the voice because the background instrumentals are great.

This is some twee bullshit

The music without the singing would rate a lot higher. But her voice is torture. I'm going to have nightmares tonight

I joined this project to expand my musical horizons, and I love when artists take big swings, so I think it absolutely belongs on this list. That said, I hated this album. Couldn’t wait for it to be over. Reminded me a bit of Ragnar Kjartansson’s The Visitors, but much more meandering and the vocals made me itchy.

Yup fuck off

It must’ve been shit because it never made it on to Spotify

Yikes. Only listened to a portion of a couple songs but this was not good. Nope.

This lady is doing unpseakable violence to those poor vowels. 17-minute long "progressive" "folk" songs with the harp heavily emphasized? What have I, what have I, what have I done to deserve this?

1.4

I just couldn't keep listening.

I don't think I recognize this artist, and am going into this blind. Nope, no thanks. This is just bizarre and not particularly enjoyable. I feel like she needs to try harder to make some more "normal" music. And all of these songs are so difficult to follow and overstay their welcome.

please someone take the mic away from her

this sounded like a medieval bjork and i am not here for it

Can we pretend like this didnt happen

No thanks.

Alright which one of you jagoffs gave Björk a harp?

Nope

this is a cool idea but the singer’s voice is just horrible to listen to.

Wants to be more than it is - a badly created copy of Bjork, Jewel, Fiona Apple amongst others. TL:DR what happens when corporate gets an idea to present their own female singer / songwriter.

Можливо тут дуже хороша лірика, а можливо і ні. Я не вникав в неї, бо музика супер нудна. Спочатку йде музика. Потім йде лірика. Не навпаки. Оцінка: висока 2/низька 3

could not play on spotify

tried to listen, but could not get into it at all. first time sticking an album since starting this journey.

Чушня

Nope. Already know I’m not looking forward to this. Oh, and it’s not on Spotify. Well. Power to Joanna. But that doesn’t help. God. This really gives chamber pop a bad name. I’d rather listen to Einstürzende Neubauten. On repeat. At top volume. I made it all the way through this horrible… experience. The fact that she sounds like some strange Bjork let loose with a plucked bed spring and full orchestra only adds to the effect. I feel I ought to give it a 2 because she obviously went to music school or some such, but I feel angry about losing the hour and I’m in a terrible mood. 1 Boolean: FALSE

Could not get with it. Did not enjoy her vocals and found a lot of it meandering and boring. A few of the more orchestral moments shone through like rays of sunshine on a rainy day. Some people love rainy days, but I do not.

Unconventional ehh. but is it genuinely innovative or just pain different. If you hear this and think it’s innovative good for you, me I must just be mainstream and straightforward. It’s baroque folk, trad story based folk with orchestration. Here harp based with dynamic swells of orchestration and over that some Bjork like vocals that do the more trad folk ie read ballad like poetry rather than standard verse chorus etc pop structure, well great, unconventional. There’s better baroque folk out there but guess not as cool and trendy as this appears to be. I will be part of the closed- minded because I did not enjoy this after the 1st few minutes, it was a chore to listen to, the voice is to my ears extremely unpleasant and grating. So a mainstream 1 Star.

Fuck this bitch! I was in a good mood before hearing Ys! An hour (feels like 4) of her insanely annoying voice (is her trying to sound like a toddler on LSD supposed to be endearing?) and precious lyrics (when you can make them out) was an hour too long. One of the worst albums I have heard doing this sometimes vastly unrewarding project.

not my thing 1/5

Too much harp.

Absolutely loathsome indie girl vocals. Could not get past the first 10 seconds of this album.

Temu Björk might have the most unappealing singing voice in this entire project, which is really saying something. Coupled with such a boring melodic structure that would put anyone to sleep (until the singing jerks you awake with its shrillness) and this album is borderline unlistenable

Sweet holy Jesus this sucks. It's not a good start when the artist keeps herself unavailable on Spotify as a protest. I'm guessing it plays really well with music critics though, the kinds of people who demand you spend $400 on over ear headphones because earbuds, while more functional, distort the intent of the artist. Only a rich white woman married to a rich white comedian could be such an asshole, easy to protest everyone else's working conditions when you have more money than you'll ever need through your husband. This is like if Regina Spektor and Tori Amos had a baby with Bjork and Are Brun and was terrible. Her weird vocals are beyond me, she's from California...why is she affecting Bjork's accent? Five songs on a 55 minute album is unconscionable. I guess getting another terrible album out of the way is a plus. I guess Andy Samberg's goofiness balances her self-important pretentiousness. This isn't in the 10,001 albums you need to hear before you die, every one of the ladies I mentioned above are better than this. Monkey & Bear is better than Emily I guess. Every song on this album sounds identical.

i refuse to listen to singers who can't hit the notes.

No es mi estilo ni mi gusto. Definitivamente. Lo intenté pero apenas pude terminarlo. 2/10

Not on Spotify - didn't review

This sounded like music I'd hear at a club spa in the Shrek universe.

Couldn’t make it through the first song

this album isn't even on spotify. i tried to listen to it on youtube and after 6 minutes i was like ''am i still on the same song??'' i was indeed still on the same song. it's 12 minutes. another song on the album is 16. there were no rises, no build up. i feel like the singing pace doesn't match the harps and the instruments very well either. very dull but rushed at the same time. it's very indie folk. yes her voice could be considered ethereal but the album was very boring for me. couldn't finish it. i like the cover tho.

El peor de todos hasta ahora.

I love her music but this album had no thread. It was trying too hard to be artistic or something.

No esta en Spotify

Excruciating. Pretentious for the sake of being pretentious.

I can acknowledge that she has a great voice and the music is very unique but it was aggressively not for me.

1.25 - I would say that I don't know how people like this, but I have friends that love Björk...

El álbum no está en Spotify pero lo escuche de YouTube

This was particularly grating on the nerves. I do not enjoy her voice.

All over the place, not my cup of tea.

This is unlistenable

Picture it: Whiterun. 201st year of the 4th Era. A man walks into The Bannered Mare. A young female bard is gently plucking at a harp preparing for her performance. She begins to sing. An Oblivion Gate opens - releasing murderous Daedra upon the unexpecting spectators! Screams! The turning over of tables and chairs! The ensuing smell of blood and smoke is overwhelming! The man is utterly aghast by what can only be described as pure, wanton carnage! The bard's screechy warbling just won't stop! Oh, and the massacre perpetrated by the Daedra is pretty awful, too.

I knew from the cover I was going to hate this woman. This was insufferable.

Can't handle the vocals

Jesus Christ this was bad. Just boring as fuck.

I hate her voice so much.

4/29 To paraphrase a quote from Harlan Ellison, "She has the voice of a seagull getting an enema." Shit album

Felt like I was in a medieval tavern listening to the worst traveling bard in the land. Weird and boring

I couldn't get through this. Reading the Wikipedia article I had high hopes, Van Dyke Parks, Steve Albino and Jim O'Rourke involved. The music isn't bad but her vocals are horrid to the point of being painful to listen to.

Doesn’t appear on spotify

I could’ve gone my whole life without listening to this. Couldn’t make it all the way through

An ambitious and original bit of folk opera that reminds me mostly of the pastoral psych-folk of the late 60s/early 70s in the UK but reinvented for millenial California. It conjures a medieval fantasy world with the arrangements (lots of strings, harps, flutes) and inhabits it with witchy croaking vocals and story telling poem-lyrics. Lots to admire conceptually, but I don't really like listenting to it at all - even once I get used to the voice.

don't really like it

Let's start with the fact that Joanna Newsom's discography isn't available on Spotify, as she considers the platform "cynical and musician-hating." And for once, I can envy those who use Spotify, since God has spared them from this pretentious bleating over a cacophonous medley of classical instruments. You think you can't ruin a harp and a harpsichord? You can! The artist talks, squeals, creaks, and chirps here, but it's hard to call it singing, and that's the first reason I want to turn the album off. The second is the length of the songs — there are only five, but each one averages ten minutes (it gets tough by the third). Joanna Newsom is that artsy classmate who tries to write poetry, yet is convinced that it should be interesting to everyone, and whose voice you can't shut up about out of politeness.

Renaissance Fair meets Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds. Not my jam.

Too breaky vocals, couldn't get through it.

I thought I’d like the instrumentation but this voice is completely inpallatable to me I’m so sorry joanna I couldn’t handle your bananies or avocadies

nop

Almost unlistenable. Had to turn it off.

What a very strange voice. Like listening to a child sing. Pass.

2/10

the hell

For this to be on the list is just taking the mick. Awful vocals. Like a baby doing a Bjork impression. And when the voice is such a focal point of the production, it’s a crime to recognise something this terrible.

Oh dear. Not everything Steve Albini touches turns to gold. With his attention to detail he made Newsom's sister sound like a childish version of Bjork. The adult version is annoying enough. The vocals were so bad. They took my attention away from the harp playing. I honestly could not tell you what that sounded like or if it was any good thanks to her sister's warblings. I'm not going to listen to it again to find out either.

The fuck is this?!

De hele tijd zat ik te denken: houd je mond, ik wil de muziek horen!

Dit is tot nu toe het domste album dat ik uit de lijst heb gehoord. Het klinkt als een middeleeuws Disney-sprookje, en hoewel ik kan begrijpen dat sommige mensen die vibe waarderen, snap ik niet waarom ze ervoor kiest om het hele album zo’n kinderachtig, overdreven opgezet stemmetje te gebruiken. Ze zou gewoon normaal moeten zingen. En als ze dan zingt, houdt ze ook niet meer op. Het gaat maar door en door, het is verschrikkelijk. Dit album past goed bij de albums die ik moet luisteren nadat ik dood ben, dan mag ‘ t wat mij betreft op repeat.

Not really a fan of this. Felt like someone had recorded their friend that wasn't very talented but then sold the cd on ebay as a way to convince them that they were good.

If you ever wondered what Bjork and Tori Amos would sound like if they got in a head-on collision, this is the album for you.

I couldn't stand more than a few minutes of her voice, not for me

One of the great scenes in Ted is when he's singing karaoke to some dreadful 90's song and he makes the point that there was a certain style of male singing in the 90's and it was all the same. A few years ago, when my mind was set adrift on memories bliss of songs recorded in the great Alberts era, I had a thought that Stevie W, Bon and JPY all having a similar intonation, doubtless informed by George Young and Harry Vanda. An interesting pop music phenomena, la di da, la di da, la di do. So where am I going with this? Bjork. She has a lot to answer for. She set off a particular style of singing which is not only as resilient as a One Nation voter's racism, but as omnipotent as any number of so called sky pilots. I do like discovering new artists in this death cycle, and having never heard of Ms J. Newsom I was looking forward to a nice listen. Fuck me. I mean, that fucking voice, how many times do I have to hear that style of singing. Is it some kind of Synecdoche New York kind of project, where Bjork is endlessly releasing new female artists, trained to sing in that voice? This is just dreadful, dreadful, so dreadful I don't know what to say. The lyrics, whatever the music was supposed to be doing, fuck a duck awful. And yet...I snuck a peep into the Youtube comments...man am I out of touch with the Bjork led zeitgeist! Meeeeeah....oooeeee....ahhhnnn..meeah..

Hey so what the fuck is this voice

Not available on streaming.

Somewhat tedious whisking. Didn’t enjoy

I absolutely hated this. Musically it’s ok... …but her voice is horrible. The way she pronounces and phrases things, (like a Temu Bjork) just reminded me of those reels mocking indie singers. That aside, this is pretentious and annoying. Absolutely unbearable. This is all about opinions, and this happily goes quickly and forcefully into the 1s.

Must listen? Only for a masochist. 0 stars needs to be an option.

The harp is cool but not a fan of her voice at all.

I really try to separate her atrocious, seemingly willfully abrasive voice from the music but I just cannot. Pure torture

I really struggled with this one. Long meandering songs, and a ‘what if Bjork bough a harp?’ aesthetic.

Random thoughts: * My old nemesis Joanna Newsom, we meet again. * I got this album based on a Paste Magazine recommendation as this was their best album of 2006. * I hated it then and I hate it still now. I only made it through because I was doing other things on my computer. * It did give me a chance to dig out "my baby"-my 80GB iPod Classic. Fun to get that out and dig through that archeological artifact. * However, I do think that the settings on it were for shuffle and repeat so Joanna Newsom just kept going on and on. I couldn't tell where anything began or ended. This might be a taste of what hell will be like for me. Me just continuing to listen to Joanna Newsom and me thinking this has to be over soon but it never ends.

utter shite, there's a reason it's not on Spotify.

The Joni Mitchell of the Renaissance Era.

Bleh. Daggers in my ears!

56 minutes. Fuck you.

J’apprécie l’effort, mais ça aurait très bien pu ne pas exister. Un music hall d’une wannabe Björk (encore elle?) des temps moyen-âgeux qui piaille une note trop haute sur la soundtrack des Sims 2, j’aurais TRÈS BIEN PU mourrir sans l’écouter au complet. Même mon telephone a compris, il est mort avant même d’entamer la deuxième chanson, sacrifice héroïque pour mon bien être mental.

If I wanted to torture someone, I would continuously play them this crap. How someone can listen to that “voice” is way beyond me

Album No. 0114 on my list. I’m afraid I don’t like this album unfortunately. I get why people like it: it’s folksy, indie-ish, avant Garde. I can appreciate it for these qualities. But unfortunately, this is not for me I guess. I don’t particularly like Joanna Newsom’s style of singing, the songs are too long and lack dynamic, and I sometimes music, singing and lyrics feel very out of touch. I’m sorry. I’ve tried hard to appreciate the avant Garde nature of this, but I failed I think. I even find it cool how prominent the harp is on this album m, which is really a rare thing. But that didn’t make up for the other drawbacks in my eyes. I tried really hard to like it because I’ve seen how much credit this has gotten, but it just didn’t work out. Hope others fare better than myself with this album. The album is not on Spotify, but I would have added “Emily” to my playlist. 1/5 stars.

The music was nice, but listening to the voice was one of the worst experiences I've ever had. Like nails on a chalkboard for 55 minutes straight. I can't put into words how annoyed I was listening to this. Really good musician but that voice gives the record an instant 1/5. I hope I never have to listen to her ever again. I'm so glad it's not on Spotify and doesn't touch my algorithm. Phew.

Many people in my life are regularly upset with me for not being able to get down with Joanna Newsom, but I cannot get past her voice. It makes me physically feel strained in the same way that spending much time with Joan Baez or Tori Amos does. This is worsened by my understanding that she intentionally leans into having this "unteachable" "self taught" sort of style. (FWIW, as a punk enjoyer, I also think it's silly for people to intentionally not learn about their instruments.) She's obviously a talented musician, but so much of this sounds to me like "probably nice on their own" strings with a vocal over the top that sounds like every take is doing vocal cord damage. Other people are presumably finding this all to be conveying an emotion, and I can believe that for them, but I'm going to continue leaving them to it. Maybe someday I'll successfully exit a conversation about it by saying "not for me, thanks!" without the other person telling me how rich her allegories and vocabulary are in a way that insists I'm not "getting" it rather than a difference of opinion...in this way, fans of Newsom I encounter are often surprisingly like fans of Tool, which is at least a bit funny. 1.5 rounding down since, as you can see, I'm cranky

#37 Budget tone-deaf Florence Welch from the 1700s

Honestly terrible. She can obviously sing but the songs just didn't flow and the lyrics were terrible.

Weird art kid ass music

Maybe I'm not getting something here, but I can't see the appeal in this music at all.

The music underneath is fine. The childlike, erratic vocals are what make this album so shitty. It's really hard to take any of it seriously and I am upset I had to waste my time with it.

I couldn’t find this album in Spotify

I maybe liked one song, but I couldn't wait to listen to something else

Heard of Joanna but it's my first time listening to her. Eh, I really don't really like her cursive singing, it's like nails on a chalkboard. She doesn't make Bjork level music to be singing like this. I'd enjoy the songs more with a different singer honestly 1/5

Yeah no lol just wasn't for me and I pretty much disliked everything about this album

1/5

Sounds like Bjork trying to do a Joni album, and I mean that very unfavorably

I didnt give a shit about this, it was like nothing.

305/1089 - Voice was very strange (in a bad way) and got worse throughout the songs. Quite a few squeaks, cracks and rasps which probably could have been rerecorded. Orchestra was alright with its focus on chamber instrumentation but every song sounded the same and dragged on and on (did Brahms write this?). I forgot to do several non-list recs so I'll do all of them now: For Newsom: The Campfire Headphase - Boards of Canada (2005) An interesting take on folktronica combining guitars with their signature strange tape machine sounds and beats. For Suede: Roman Candle - Elliott Smith (1994) Elliott Smith's debut. I honestly think he could've been a Beatle if he were born in Liverpool in the 40s For Sonic Youth: Ah Via Musicom - Eric Johnson (1990) Probably the best Eric Johnson album. He's a very unique virtuoso guitarist combining jazz and country rock (but that's not really sufficient to describe it) and this album has the signature "Cliff's of Dover." For Mudhoney: Wish - The Cure (1992) - The most solid Cure album in my opinion with the great "Friday I'm in Love" among many other solid alternative/goth rock songs.

Not my cup of tea. Reminded me of Yoko Ono, and not in a good way.

Da bin ich raus.

Es ist eigentlich gut, aber nach 10 Minuten schon auserzählt. Dann geht's aber noch 45 Minuten weiter und hat leider gar keine Abwechslung mehr drin.

Beautiful music, shame about the “singing” which overlaid it and frankly got in the way.

Nem no spotify tem! Deve ser bom hein?!

Painful atonal bullshit

wasn't worth the trip to youtube

yikes

I was always curious what could be achieved by layering the screeches of a stepped-on cat with a harp and symphonic arrangements. Here we have it. Hauntingly terrible, play this one for the enemies in your life, who might believe you're just trying to be kind. But, you know better. You sinister bastard, you.

Nope. A thousand times nope. I'm sure somewhere this is deeply meaningful to people. And maybe it would have become that way for me if her voice and singing style had not been so grating. Temu-Bjork. The instrumentation is chaotic and the 'songs' never end. May have worked better as a spoken word album? And oh ya - boo you have to go to Youtube to find this and the ads and frequent and awful. Took me 6 weeks to finally clear this one...glad its over. 1/5

I really did not like this!

Japidi

Argh purée c'était pénible à écouter. Habituellement j'aime les longues chansons mais ici c'était un vrai calvaire.

Didn't like her voice from the first cu but need to listen to the rest of the album.

Really did not enjoy this album. “Sawdust & Diamonds” had cool instrumentation. The squeaky thing she does with her voice occasionally is grating. “Rambling” is just about the kindest thing I can say about it.

Ys this a joke?

I tried. The combination of Newsom's voice and the orchestration made this sound like the soundtrack to a slightly odd Disney movie. The bits they don't release for the singalong album. The orchestration in particular I found really grating. I could cope with her voice – heck, I gave Medúlla four stars – but in concert with the strings (oh, the strings...) and the lack of apparent structure it was just too much for me. I didn't finish it. I'm sorry, I do try to do that for every album, but I couldn't manage it here. I know there are people who love this. Good on you for loving it. I'm sure there's stuff I love that you dislike as well. That's as it should be. But I never want this to darken my door again.

Why make twelve minute long songs when you are going to repeat the same musical phrase over and over again?

Using my god given right of the one star to smack this album into the worst of the list category. Sorry not sorry Joanna... I think the instrumentation was pretty great, but Mrs Newsom came in like a typhoon with her theater kid annunciation and tanked everything to shit. The songs went onnnn and onnnnn... like oh my god, can we wrap it up here. Like I see the vision, but the only way Id listen to this again is if I were drunk off of mead in a tavern somewhere. 2.5/10

The longest 5 song album ever. Jesus.

The global review rating was 2.8 when I wrote this. In the reviews I read, people seem to either love this or hate this. I wish you could see the distribution of ratings but most of the scores that I saw seemed to land on 1 star or 5 stars. I am guessing by the cumulative average rating there are more haters. While hate is a strong word, count me in this group. I dare you to listen to the vocals on this album and try to avoid picturing a child-aged Shirley Temple singing "On The Good Ship Lollipop".

Hipster trash

Nope. Big nope. I couldn't make it past a few minutes into each song. She sounds like the Evil witch from Snow White singing.

That was a tough one.

Unfair for me to rate the album as folk is not my genre.

Irritating, like Quint's fingernails on the chalkboard in Jaws.

Not a great start. She can’t sing and it’s too whimsical

I really disliked her voice.

I hated this. I hated her voice. I hated how long and meandering the songs are. I hated the arrangements, the recording, and just about everything else. Somehow she took everything I hate about Bjork and made it possibly worse. Wait, I don't think it's possible to get worse than Bjork, but it's bad.

Meh

Too weird for me. The vocals are horrid, like a child learning to play the violin

Second most overrated band of all time

If I could rate this lower than 1 star I would. Sounds like Adam Sandler when he's singing ridiculous songs in his movies. Awful.

Couldn't listen, not on platforms

I'm sorry, I could not.

Did not like this at all. She’s like an annoying bard

I lasted 30 minutes and couldn't do any more. I actually enjoyed the harp but the vocals were not for me.

A hard listen. A meandering Kate Bush. I didn't appreciate the lyrics; just lots of noises and rambles. The commitment to musical surprise was admittedly fun. Songs are a bit more interesting when they have very little structure. Having said that, absolutely will never come back, nor consider her again.

Holy hell that was terrible. I don’t know how I got through it.

Obviously an acquired taste. Bland songs and grating vocals.

This was not good. I can not stand her voice. It sounded like I was a pixie running around a DnD campaign but like nothing exciting happens. Sure the story telling was a cool concept but bleh. I bet I could fall asleep fast to this album. Liked Songs: idk...maybe "Cosmia"

Squeaky, avant garde, and mostly just too out there for me. At times, it felt like the vocals and instrumentals were two completely separate compositions. 1.5

Terrible

I finished it. interesting perhaps. Not sure how to rate it though. 1-2 stars probably. Not sure I would ever put it on again. Not for me

Apparently she's married to Andy Samberg. I prefer The Lonely Island. The instrumentals were pretty but so...many...words. And that screech in her voice on the high notes kind of hurts my ears.

Pretentious shit, not finished