Joanna Newsom - Milk-Eyed Mender
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CD Details
Artist: Joanna NewsomEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 2004-03-23
Music Label: Drag City
Product features:
- Rock
- Bridges And Baloons
- Sprout And The Bean
- The Book Of Right-On
- Sadie
- Inflammatory Writ
- This Side Of The Blue
- 'En Gallop'
- Cassiopeia
- Peach, Plum, Pear
- Swansea
- Three Little Babes
- Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie
Music reviews of Milk-Eyed Mender
Music Review: Uncut diamond
Rating: 4 Stars
Joanna Newsom produces music in the borderland between modern indie and american and appalachian folk, with a hint of country mixed into it all. Although at first planning a career as a professional harpist of the old school, her fascination for folk music lead Joanna to record a few tapes of her singing traditional as well as self-composed songs to the sound of her harp. The recordings were never intended for the broader audiences, instead they were given out to friends as a bit of a rarity. One of these tapes did however end up in the hands of Will Oldham, who was instantly charmed by the music. After serving as a warm-up band for Will Oldham, Joanna Newsom got herself a contract with prince Billy's own Dragcity. "The Milk-Eyed Mender" is her Dragcity debut, consisting of both prevously released as well as brand new songs.
"The Milk-Eyed Mender" stands out as perhaps one of the most interesting debuts on this side of the millennium, done by one of the most original artist in many years. It isn't for nothing that people such as Will Oldham, Devendra Banhart and Shawn Marshall (aka. Cat Power) have endorsed her and her music. At her best, Joanna resembles Björk at her most charming mixed with a good dose of what I'm only able to describe as Joanna Newsom, and her debut promises much good music to come.
When it comes to fusing traditional harp arrangements with pop-oriented american folk, Joanna Newsom is breaking new ground. The music itself varies from tracks consisting of nothing but beautiful harp arrangements and Joanna's squeeky voice, to more upbeat and much less pleasing harpsicord-based folk songs.
Her voice has been described as an acquired taste - a description I cannot agree with. Well, the girl doesn't exactly sing like Britney Spears, but in my world that is nothing but a very very very good thing (and who'd like to hear Britney sing without voice-modulators anyways?). At times her voice conveys a presence and truthfulness exceeding even ex-belle Isobel Campbell at her best. And although I would normally describe her rural-west accent as nothing but gross, it does in the case of Joanna Newsom all combine into a higher artistic unity of musical gorgeousness.
My only critique of her music, is that "The Milk-Eyed Mender" sounds in some aspects like too much of a debut album, and too little as anything more than that. Some of the tracks should definitely have been omitted from the track list all from the start, and the production doesn't always work in Joanna's favour. Although the folks at DragCity have luckily realized that her music is best preserved by adding as little as possible to the girl and her harp, the album as a whole ends up in an odd no-mans land between the polished pop-production and the raw and honest 4-track home made indie album. Though at times resembling Belle and Sebastian anno '96, the production does too often turn out raw, without it having any artistic effect. All in all I am tempted to draw a comparison between the production of "The Milk-Eyed Mender" and Maher Shalal Hash Baz' "From a Summer to Another Summer (From an Egypt to Another Egypt)" - obscure and fascinating, but rather uncut and raw.
But untidy production is not enough to destroy the general impression of Joanna Newsom as a major talent. I must say that I'm looking forward to hearing more from her, hoping that "the difficult second album" (to use a well worn cliché) will prove that she is able to make good music even when the initial fascination for her use of harp has passed.
Description of Milk-Eyed Mender
Debut album from Californian-born singer songwriter Joanna Newsom. A former member of San Francisco's The Pleased, Newsom's first solo release effortlessly blends the genres of folk and pop. The single 'Sprout And The Bean' is included.Alternative Rock CDs
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