...lacking depth

I do think that there are some good ideas on this album, but not enough to make it something really good. I used to be able to listen to it, but now every time it comes on random, I usually skip the track. It has a certain irritating quality which if not in the mood, can really get under your skin.

People talk about her poetic lyrics, and yes, they rhyme, and there sure are allot of them. But they're not about anything at all. I swear, Ice Cube makes more sense than this girl, and he spends most of his time saying "know what I'm saying?".

I think the music has some truly beautiful moments and there are some hooks in there, even with the weird and long song structure there are some memorable moments.

But it just seems like she makes the funny voice to make it seem more real, which seems to be a ploy to convince us of some non existent pain or emotion. All of it seems so contrived and methodical that it just comes off as not having any real depth.

I think that she is obviously intelligent, and is definitely original. Maybe it does have depth and meaning, but I just can't relate to it. For some reason it makes me feel poor to listen to, haha.

I don't think she sings like Bjork at all, I don't get that comparison. Bjork has an amazing voice with power, range and sensuality. I would not describe Newsome's that way, but it is unique.

Overall, its different(good), kind of annoying(bad), has long songs(can be good, but in this case bad), unique arrangements(good), squeaky voice(bad).

Two things: This is not the CD for you if you want to sing along or memorize all the words or dance a jig. The music and lyrics are, on the other hand, beautiful and creative, with a feeling of bards from long ago. Basically it's great, but definitely should be previewed on youtube or elsewhere before purchased.

I mainly bought this album because of the song "sawdust and diamonds" which i had only heard the beautiful "live version" on youtube. Turns out the studio version is a lesson on how you should NOT record a song.

The equalization of this song is appalling. You can barely hear the intricate harp playing during most of the song because the high-frequency signals are saturated while the low-frequency signals are muffled. All of this making the song a great big blur with shrieks.

I'm honestly truly disappointed.

Joanna Newsom, as I should have expected, charts a new course for her impressive second full length album, Ys, from that of her also beautiful debut, The Milk Eyed Mender. Though very different, it is no less deeply felt, fresh, and memorable, and again, all together beautiful. Though her singing seems somewhat more controlled on this album (though no less sincere), the album is not really more accessible. I'd actually say it is less accessible. This is not easy listening, but it is very rewarding listening. It charts a grand, epic course in contrast to the folk-y, relatively minimal approach of her first album. Indeed, the songs are of epic storybook quality running 7 to 15 minutes, with many shifts and movements in the music and a myriad of words, word pictures, fairy tale stories, and mythologies revealed in the lyrics. I think it is worth reading the lyrics during a later listen as they are poetry bearing multiple and close readings. Though this album is grand and epic, it is nonetheless very human and emotive, qualitites reminiscent of Newsom's debut. Newsom's harp playing and vocal phrasing, Van Dyke Parks orchestral arrangements, and the poetry of the epic lyrics all contribute effectively to spread the table for a delightful musical and lyrical feast that is worth coming back to and reveling in again and again.

'Ys', the second album by the unique Joanna Newsom, presents itself like a bejeweled and alluring volume of fairytales. I have yet to find an album with packaging as visually stunning, or songs as epically orchestrated and written as the ones featured on this album. The album comes in a stunning slip-cover featuring a gorgeous painting by Benjamin A. Vierling filled with symbology and luxurious detail; On the back is the list of song titles (Emily, Monkey & Bear, Sawdust & Diamonds, Only Skin, and Cosmia). The jewel case is a mirror image of the slip-cover, except the album cover is instead presented like an old journal cover, complete with an illustration of a gold flower wreath, lyre, and sword. The gold edged booklet enclosed is thick and its layout similar to a novel, complete with title page and sprawling lyrics, a total of 29 pages in total. The songs are rich and long, the lyrics of the longest song (Only Skin) taking up 9 pages. Accompanied with the lyrics are old-fashioned black and white drawings of oceans, mountains, men wresting with bears, wispy ghosts, sunsets, and harps.

The music has evolved and matured since Joanna Newsom's debut album 'The Milk-Eyed Mender'. The songs unfold like epic fables, filled with clever twists, turns, and ingenious rhymes that echo like medieval hymns. Newsom's voice unsettles many because of its childlike, high-pitched tone, but once you get used to the exuberant squeals of excitement at the climax of a chorus, you can easily appreciate the whimsical elements that are perfectly suited for the exquisite lyrics and imagery. Newsom's harp playing is stunning in itself, and is accompanied with a full orchestra that includes electric bass, electric guitar, percussion, banjo, mandolin, accordion, marimba, cymbalum, violin, viola, cello, bass, clarinet, flute, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, and French horn. Newsom's sister Emily Newsom lends her voice for back-up in the song 'Emily', and Bill Callaham provides vocal harmonies in the song 'Only Skin'.
The lyrics are impeccably written, filled with images of meadowlarks, fires moving over prairies, meteorites, bears dripping of grime, and doves stuffed with "sawdust and diamonds."

All in all this is a moving musical work, filled with the beauty, fantasy, and whimsy that one is normally deprived of in life. It acts like an elixir for the soul, and leaves you hungry and wanting for more.