 "Photo: Daniel Arnold")
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Though Joanna Newsom’s fans have been waiting for Have One On Me for a few years, they may not have been expecting an album quite like this. Newsom’s latest release, her first since 2006, is a sprawling, ambitious triple album that delves deep into new styles of songwriting and instrumentation.
Have One On Me is enormous. The album is roughly two hours long and contains 18 tracks, most of which fall in the six to nine minute range. It takes some deliberate commitment to listen to the whole thing. This is not an album you can throw on and walk away from—at least not on the first listen—it keeps drawing you back in.
The album is dark, warm and inviting, sweeping from joyfulness to mourning along carefully unfolding melodies. Newsom departs from the whimsical folksiness of her two previous albums, Ys and The Milk-eyed Mender. Instead, Have One On Me builds its own glittering landscape of bluesy melodies and meandering arrangements.
At first, the album is overwhelming because of its overall length, the duration of many of the songs and the complexity of the song structures. However, the album is consistent in tone and there is no one highpoint, so one could stop and start it at almost any interval and still appreciate the album’s atmospheric effect.
Despite being unusually long, however, it’s important to note that Have One On Me doesn’t feel like two hours. The album never stagnates or drags. It moves seamlessly between driving up-tempos and gently woeful ballads.
Have One On Me is a true showcase of Newsom’s vocal abilities. Her expressive soprano soars over understated blues and jazz chords.
Newsom’s voice on this album is much more forceful and grown-up than on her previous albums. The little squeaks and cracks that have peppered her music and become something of a trademark appear infrequently on Have One On Me. Instead, Newsom embraces her gentle vibrato and employs beautiful and deliberate ornamentations. The result feels both intimate and powerful.
Newsom has never relied very heavily on a verse-chorus song framework, so long, outstretching pieces are typical of her writing; however, Newsom’s writing on this album departs from her earlier style in a few ways. Have One On Me is decidedly less folk-based and less quirky than Ys and The Milk-eyed Mender —but losing some quirk doesn’t mean that Newsom has become boring, as she has always been known as something of a musical eccentric. Here, Newsom trades in some of her idiosyncrasies for complex pentatonic melodies and slow builds. She abandons the dense arrangements of Ys in favor of more toned-down instrumentation. The comparative subtlety of this album rewards repeated listening. An attentive ear will discover new nuances and phrases over time.
The album opens with “Easy,” a swelling, six-minute track that oscillates between quiet vocals over a simple piano to a lush staccato of strings, flute and horns. “Easy” is one of a handful of faster songs on the album.
Perhaps one of the album’s most memorable songs is “Good Intentions Paving Company.” The song, which appears early on the album, opens with simple piano and vocals and blossoms into a joyful, up-tempo that then devolves into a movingly forthcoming bridge before revving back up again. This song will get stuck in your head after only a few listens.
One of the more succinct songs on the album is “Jackrabbits.” The song is downcast and heartfelt. It is simple in construction, with only harp and piano as accompaniment. Newsom builds the song around a beautiful, bluesy melody that she repeats and later develops with some interesting variations.
Have One On Me ends on a somber note. The album’s last track, “Does Not Suffice” sees Newsom boxing up her “pretty dresses and high-heeled shoes” after a breakup. The song has the gentle mournfulness of an old hymnal. Her voice is soft and steady throughout the nearly seven-minute song, but gains a subtle boldness as the song develops into a swirling crescendo.
This is a rare album that is both intensely satisfying and enduringly listenable. Rather than being an exhausting trek through two dense hours of music, Have One On Me is an energizing trip through beautiful and heartfelt melodies. We may have to wait another four years for a follow-up, but if it is as good as Have One On Me, whatever Newsom is working on is sure to be worth the wait.
For selected tracks from Have One on Me, visit www.loyolaphoenix.com to listen to this week’s streams.
Four and a half out of five stars.
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