About the Album:
Singer/songwriter Joanna Newsom was born in 1982 in Grass Valley, California, but grew up in North Carolina. Her mother was a classically trained pianist and her father played guitar. She asked her parents for harp lessons at age five. She self-released her first EP, Walnut Whales, in 2002 and Yarn and Glue a year later. In 2004, she released her first album, The Milk-Eyed Mender, through the independent Chicago-based record label Drag City.
She released her second album, Ys (pronounced “Eess”), in 2006. It was named after the city of Ys, “which according to myth was built on the coast of Brittany and later swallowed by the ocean.” WK It “widens the scale set up by…The Milk-Eyed Mender, crafting a rich and grandiose orchestral album that adeptly narrates tales of sorrow and change as if the text was pulled straight from a medieval tale.” PM
“As fantastical as it is, Newsom asserts that each of the tracks were inspired by real events within her own life,” PM including “the sudden death of Newsom’s best friend, a continuing illness, and a tumultuous relationship.” WK “The gravity of these potent emotions ground the whimsy of the album into a stately and striking monument of work with both depth and eccentricity.” PM Pitchfork’s Chris Dahlen said the album is “great because Newsom confronts a mountain of conflicting feelings and sifts through them for every nuance.” WK
“Newsom’s signature harp is showcased throughout, accompanied by a stirring blend of strings, reeds and woodwinds. Jaunty strums of banjo decorate the tracks, embellishing the album with surprising whimsical flare and texture. The complex and sweeping arrangements feel as though they were carried here from a distant and enchanting land.” PM Celebrated reviewer Robert Christgau negatively assessed the songs as “reveal[ing] only that her taste for the antique is out of control.” WK
“Ys conjures an inexplicable magic that is as expansive as it is intimate. With only five tracks, Newsom arranges an ambitious and mythical 55-minute epic of internal struggle and wonder.” PM AllMusic.com’s Heather Phares says the album is “a demanding listen, but it’s also a rewarding and inspiring one.” WK “It’s widely regarded as Newsom’s best work for good reason: Ys showcases her reaching unforeseen heights with grace and mastery.” PM Slant magazine’s Jimmy Newlin called it “a precious – in every sense of the word – masterpiece.” WK
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