Joanna Newsom - Ys
Basicahhtastelo
Feb 10, 2026
71

Maybe this is just my folk numbness, but every song kind of sounds the same. And truth be told—as much as this is gonna piss people off—she's not a good vocalist; in fact, I’d go as far as to say she’s straight-up a bad vocalist. Also, these songs drag on way too fucking long—seriously, this album should only be 30 minutes. However, the production is great, and the lyricism is even better. I’m surprised this even made the top 250; it’s not really an AOTY/RYM-core release. The way this review is worded, you’d think I hate it, but no—there’s definitely some merit here, and I do want to check out the rest of her stuff.

Favorite Track: Only Skin (yeah the longest song I'm a hypocrite)
Least Favorite Track: Monkey & Bear

2

Comments

MIxen
3mo
You will probably appreciate more Have One On Me, her voice is less screechy on that record. I still think she sings really well on Ys, you can hear the different vocal techniques she uses and there's a lot of passion in her performances. I will say though, her next two albums show even more technicality in her voice.
And I think you might indeed have a certain folk numbness because each song here is enchanting. BUT, a lot happens in each track, so Ys can be really hard to digest, especially on first listen. I personally had a hard time with that record at first but it ended up being a 10 due to how majestic that album is.
Basicahhtastelo
3mo
@MIxen Interesting I'll definitely check out her other records soon and give this one more listens as well
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