joanna newsom - ys

second best album of the year so far for me (after scott walker's the drift)

<-- also, joanna is lovely.

i still have't heard this album. ggrr. oh it vcomes out tomorrow....i'll have to darn well buy it. gosh darn.

she's on the cover of this month's wire as well.

i would hit it, verily.

her voice is terrible, no matter how people try to spin this fact, the fact remains, her voice is terrible. i've taken plenty of time to try to get used to it; and, the fact remains. the instrumentation and lyrics are pretty good, though

sure, her voice cracks, drifts, screeches and whatever, but it does so all the while oozing with character and charm.

you just don't like it, and that's fine, but she displays her own vocal skill set (likely aided by a vocal coach brought in by the large budget.) on ys that just about surpasses anything on milk-eyed mender in terms of cadence and versatility.

i don't think her voice is terrible, just rather unique

i'll agree that the singing is better on Ys than on milk-eyed mender

what kaini says and what pitchfork said

i said this a month or so ago but

is it just me or is there a ton of digi vocoder tuning going on on her voice

particularly at the start of sawdust and diamonds

lots of syllables sound tweaked like cher

i doubt it; jim o'rourke produced, and i couldn't imagine him being a fan of autotune.

i just read that pitchfork review, and for once they've got it spot on; it is the sort of album you'll either love or hate, and the lyrics are the best thing about the album.

  LUDD said:

i said this a month or so ago but

is it just me or is there a ton of digi vocoder tuning going on on her voice

particularly at the start of sawdust and diamonds

lots of syllables sound tweaked like cher

it's just you. i don't hear any digital assistance. there are extreme changes in pitch but i think they sound more pronounced because of the compression on her voice, which is my only qualm about the album. her voice is a little too loud against some of the light instrumentation at times. she never sounds quiet, which i think she should, at least a little bit.

I couldn't get past her voice on the first one, but this album sounds so nice from what I've heard I had to get it. The combination of the vocals, harp and excellent string arrangements have quite a strange and unusual charm...

I'd go with "Only Skin" for my favorite track. Really lush strings arrangements, kinda surreal sometimes. Also love the touch of accordion, banjo and male back vocals at the end. Goes in several directions in near 17 minutes.

But they're really all good.

one of my favorites of the year. i listened to "emily" and "sawdust & diamonds" all through my euro tour.

have a look at the full page picture of her just before the record reviews. jesus christ.

emily is my favourite track. the first time i heard the 'meteorite' chorus was on headphones, and i literally stopped in the middle of the street, fucking slackjawed.

that doesn't happen very often.

not to mention when reviewers keep comparing your voice to lisa simpsons, lolz

an oooold sig of mine

<3

if encey was here he's be spunking all over that pic. she's somewhat elvish, no?

  Quote

not to mention when reviewers keep comparing your voice to lisa simpsons, lolz

lol, exactly ... if lisa simpson was an elf who played the harp

i really hate the fact that you make great recommendations kaini, because i usually end up spending too much money on and subsequently enjoying them

  awkward said:

i still have't heard this album. ggrr. oh it vcomes out tomorrow....i'll have to darn well buy it. gosh darn.

Tell us your impressions, I'm interested.

well, one song in, i'm impressed. it's lush.

  oxiactionmax said:

well it's hardly party music you're right about that, but i don't think it was intended to be, get the shortest track "cosmia" and listen to it a few times through, if you still aren't feeling it then you probably DON'T HAVE A SOUL.

yes i been meaning to hear that also. but i think it requires more than a one trk sample listen.

very much so. i'd go so far as to say it deserves your entire attention for the duration of the album. but if you were to check out one track anyway, i'd suggest 'jesse'.

  Quote

One section of "Clara," the song about Mussolini, finds Walker singing while punching a big slab of meat, which he saw in a butcher's window and thought might make an interesting rhythm instrument. It does. In "Jesse," he addresses the twin towers of 9/11 through appeals to Elvis Presley's dead twin brother, while echoes of "Jailhouse Rock" emerge and dissipate like slow-motion camera flashes. "Jolson And Jones" features an explosive spell of slaughtered pigs' squeals that might well be the most terrifying musical moment ever put to tape.

this sort of shit is why i think scott walker is maybe the bravest musician alive.