Concertwire.com

Joanna Newsom sings about whalebones, sleep, grammar, accumulation, owls, burning boats, milk, teeth, colors, and kin, all in an otherworldly, ragged-sweet voice that defies convention. Her harp arrangements are at times ethereal and delicate, galloping and ornate, but never overwrought. Despite an extensive musical background, (she took up the harp at age eight), she hadn’t sung until she began concentrating on her songs, but her voice, which had a pure, untrained sound described by one reviewer as, “somewhere between a child and a crone”, is the perfect complement to her music. Newsom started out recording some collections of songs and sharing them with friends. Eventually they found their way to musicians like Will Oldham and Cat Power, both of whom invited her to play opening slots for their shows. Newsom released her full-length debut, The Milk-Eyed Mender, in spring 2004; later that year she toured the U.S. with Devendra Banhart. In 2006 she changed direction again, with the release of her new album Ys, which received great critical acclaim and landed Newsom the Number 3 spot on Pitchfork’s list of Top Albums of 2006. A new album, "Have One On Me" is due on February 23. Here’s hoping we hear some of it when she comes to visit in March.