How do you follow-up one of the most ground-breaking and critically acclaimed albums of the decade? In Joanna Newson’s case with an epic triple-album that is likely to rival the achievements of her former work. The singer-songwriter from Nevada City, California, is slowly unveiling the contents of her third opus ‘Have One On Me’. For the past few weeks she has been posting new songs through her label’s website, where we were previously introduced to the wonders of ’81′, followed by ‘Good Intentions Paving Company’ and this time is the turn of ‘Kingfisher‘.
The multitalented artist - currently on tour around Australia - has also revealed the record’s tracklist, which can be seen below: Read more…
From the fringes of the anti-folk movement and blessed with a peculiar high-pitched voice that easily induced a shocking early impression - rather similar to the first time we heard Kate Bush - this angelic harp and piano player from Nevada produced arguably the most ambitious album of the last 10 years.
‘Ys’ was a giant step from Joanna Newsom’s first official album, ‘The Milk-Eyed Mender’. With only five lengthy tracks, the shortest being the seven-minute story ‘Cosmia’, it resembled at times a classical suite divided in five movements. The record expanded beyond the limits of traditional songwriting into a world of poetic storytelling and creative instrumentation defying all rules in current pop music.
Helped by a holy trinity of alternative collaborators – Steve Albini engineering, Jim O’Rourke producing and the legendary Brian Wilson arranger Van Dyke Parks at the orchestrations - Newson impressed critics and audiences alike, leaving the seal of a true original. The world eagerly awaits her new material that’s rumoured to be delivered sometime in 2010.
