SHREDnews

By: Ashley Pagano

It’s hard to find bands and artists that aren’t trying to be like someone else in the industry, but that actually try and break the mold, start their own footsteps for someone else to follow, and make music and a genre and sound that is uniquely just them, or incomparable. JoannaNewsom is an artist that does dare to be different, does break the mold, and does start their own footsteps. I first heard her song “Peach, Plumb, Pear” and I was unsure if I liked it at first, but the fact that it was so different may have been why I wasn ’t into the song at first. It was something new to me, but it eventually grew on me, and I called myself a fan from that point on. JoannaNewsom is from Nevada City, California, and plays indie folk music. Have One On Me is her newest album, with three discs all together.

“Easy” starts the first CD off. The song is soft, and her high pitched, light, airy voice is so calming and chilling. The song has an extremely relaxing vibe, and the lyrics are deep and interesting. The song was about her being with her man, and being happy, even though they have been through a lot of things. This six minute song is full of meaning, If you thought six minutes was long, try eleven for “Have One On me”. I especially love the line “By the time you read this, I will be so far away. Daddy long legs, how in the world am I expected to stay.” I was really intrigued by, not just this song, but the entire record. “No Provenance” really showed off Joanna Newsom’s songwriting ability, not just lyrically, but musically. The instruments are put into the song beautifully, and her music is so real and natural. There’s no synthesized music, fake drums or beats. It’s all legit.

“On A Good Day” is the beginning of disc 2. Again, the song has a beautiful sound with beautiful lyrics, but it’s hard to tell the songs apart from each other. Therearen’t any real changeups. You have to know the album extremely well. One thing that the songs lack is hooks, catchy choruses and lines. Yet that doesn’t seem to matter because the feel of the song, and the talent present seems to block all of that out, but yet if someone doesn ’t take the time to appreciate the music, they may not enjoy the album as someone who listens to it a bit more closely. This continues on in “You And Me, Bess.” It just gets quite repetitive and monotonous, and honestly, a bit boring. I also notice the lengths of the songs to be insane.”Go Long” is a full eight minutes, and starts off really quiet. This song could honestly be a lullaby, and put anyone to sleep. It’s so angelic sounding, soft and peaceful. Again the melodydoesn’t really stick in my head, and if it didn’t have awesome lyrics, I would be really turned off by this album.

“Soft As Chalk” is the beginning to the very last CD of the record. It is a bit different because it’s a little upbeat and picks up the pace with drums, a simple beat, and the piano. It’s a beautiful song.”Autumn” was the first song where I actually noticed a really nice chord progression and fell in love with the music portion of the song. It was a soft, but deep song, and I think it stood out the most for me. The third disc was my favorite out of the three. “Does Not Suffice” is the last song and it ends the album very nicely. I think with this album people will either love or hate it, and it depends on their taste.

For Fans Of: Regina Spektor, Owen Pallett

Overall rating: 7/10

Recommended Tracks: Easy, Have One On Me, Autumn.