New Music Tuesday: Joanna Newsom, Have One On Me

Joanna Newsom's latest opus Have One On Me is a jaw-dropping 2-hour long, ethereal joy ride that is truly a pleasure to listen to, at least for a Newsom fan such as myself. Each tracks feeds into the next like a musical ouroboros but the effect is one of cohesion rather than repetition. The blend of instrumentation and composition here is dreamy and atmospheric and allows for Newsom's voice and lush, clever lyrics to act as the focal point.

Newsom's approach to music has become more sophisticated as she's grown into her craft. Her 2004 debut, The Milk-Eyed Mender, is a precious, homespun quilt of songs that are so sweetly antiquated in their lyricism the album seems like a period piece. Mender also introduced Newsom's unusual voice that to some is pleasingly elvish and child-like and to others conjures comparisons to Lisa Simpson (and that's one of the more generous comments). But on Have One On Me Newsom has discovered some semblance of vocal restraint, abandoning much of the urgency she sang with on Mender.

This album seems more accessible to me than some of Newsom's previous work but it's also incredibly rich and full which could put some listener's off. As an established fan, I find Have One On Me to be a decadent fantasy buoyed by Newsom's talents with harp and musical arrangement. Others might find it too much an effort to get all the way through (again, it is 2 hours long, she's like a musical Scorsese). But if you can afford the time to make the journey through it I recommend you do, it's well worth it.