#6

Joanna Newsom
Ys
(Drag City)

That so many visionaries were incorporated in the creation of Newsom’s latest is quite the unavoidable stamp of approval. Think about it – Van Dyke Parks on strings, Bill Callahan (Smog) on back-up vocals, Steve Albini on recording, and Jim O’Rourke on mix. Regardless of whether their names bring association, they’ve shaped the way modern music and sound is digested and considered. Add that to the fact that a smallish independent record with little disposable funds on their hands took the leap in funding the huge project and it’s obvious that this was either going to be a colossal disaster of egos or an absolute masterpiece. I don’t need to tell you which.

Newsom’s voice is totally unique in an increasingly homogenous industry. At once it conjures ancient wisdom and youthful possibility, complexity and simplicity, reality and the fantastic. It’s never something that will set the discriminating masses into motion. But for a select few nothing will be better than the joy of wordplay and splendor of melody that Ys communicates.