Artist Joanna Newsom

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Joanna Newsom

Joanna Newsom secured her reputation as a challenging performer on 2006's Ys, a record that counted as odd even by the standards of a musician whose primary instrument is a harp and whose songs often broke the 10-minute mark. Newsom took her time crafting a follow-up, but the newHave One On Me is arguably too generous in making up for lost time. Its 18 songs stretch over three discs, all but four of which break the six-minute mark. But where Ys sounded willfully obtuse, Have One On Me is downright conventional (relatively speaking), with more of an emphasis on clarity and space. How it will translate live remains to be seen; some of the songs are just Newsom and her harp, but others are practically mini-symphonies. It should be interesting regardless.

Updated 03/11/2010