Ys
by Joanna Newsom
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 373 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 309 out of 373
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 373
  3. Negative: 48 out of 373

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  1. JoshS
    Nov 13, 2006
    10
    Incredible, best album of 2006.
  2. MattD.
    Nov 13, 2006
    3
    Less grating than The Milk-Eyed Mender, but it's without personality. Sounds like a bad soundtrack to a fantasy movie. If you want something different, try Nellie McKay or Loreena McKennitt.
  3. umbertop
    Nov 13, 2006
    7
    beautiful but not so beautiful
  4. JeremyP
    Nov 14, 2006
    10
    Personally, my favourite album ever. I'm so happy I heard it months before it was released so that I was free of any influence
  5. KevinC
    Nov 14, 2006
    10
    This album is without question the best thing I've heard in at least a few years. It's mind-blowingly ambitious and ornately beautiful. I wouldn't expect anything less from Joanna Newsom, this is a perfect album and a stunning masterpiece.
  6. bill
    Nov 14, 2006
    10
    Astounding! Between Joanna and Van Dyke, this si nothing short of a masterpiece! The more you play it, thyee more it grows on you. Congrats Joanna!!
  7. PaulF
    Nov 14, 2006
    10
    Spell binding! Album of the year.
  8. JonL
    Nov 15, 2006
    8
    It's definitely an achievement of some kind, and blistering with passion, pastoral and opaque, yet its emotion is unmistakable. Yet, it doesn't hit me like certain albums of similar feel and goal (say Astral Weeks). It seemed like Newsom was getting more from this (admittedly grand) outpouring of ideas than I was, and yes, her voice detracts from the album. But with its It's definitely an achievement of some kind, and blistering with passion, pastoral and opaque, yet its emotion is unmistakable. Yet, it doesn't hit me like certain albums of similar feel and goal (say Astral Weeks). It seemed like Newsom was getting more from this (admittedly grand) outpouring of ideas than I was, and yes, her voice detracts from the album. But with its ambition, insanely beautiful arrangements and dense more-from-feeling-than-logic poetry, it sure does come tantalizingly close to a masterwork, and it has the feeling of a ghostly catharsis that is extremely rare in any phylum of music these days. For that, it's an album to be admired, if not to be quite as loved.… Expand
  9. AaronS
    Nov 15, 2006
    0
    I don't know whay everyone else is hearing, but this is the single worst release in 2006. Newsom's vocals are beyond bad and the album itself is very overproduced. Awful.
  10. Grut
    Nov 15, 2006
    4
    Her first album was amazing, this one is just crap. Must be the influence of her new buddy Devendra Banhart. Can someone tell this guy not to talk to other artists ?
  11. AntonioB
    Nov 15, 2006
    9
    Rolling stone dropped the ball. Solid arrangements as the songs meander with a purpose and let her voice shine.
  12. Helen
    Nov 15, 2006
    10
    We have seen the birth of a true modern day masterpiece.
  13. nightchapelk
    Nov 15, 2006
    2
    awful. 50+ minutes long and she is singing for 48 of those minutes. I would love to hear the version sans vocals.
  14. SanN
    Nov 17, 2006
    10
    On first listen, I'm thinking it might be the best of the year. That spot is currently held by TV On The Radio for me, but it's close.
  15. PlatePlate
    Nov 17, 2006
    10
    On the verge of replacing In The Aeroplane Over The Sea for me, album of the year, Joanna Newsom is a demigod, wow, i have listened to this album more in the last few weeks than any album this year in total
  16. ZachJ
    Nov 17, 2006
    10
    One of the more groundbreaking albums to be released this year, I think. Takes a while to settle in (possibly moreso than usual; I say this because most times people follow such a comment with, "Just like any great album.") Once it clicks though...incredible.
  17. DanielO
    Nov 18, 2006
    10
    J Publius said: "This will be on every critics top 10 list, and nobody will listen to it for more than five minutes." Actually I haven't been able to put it down for over a week. Grows with every listen. It's the same for most people I've talked to who liked it.
  18. samf
    Nov 21, 2006
    10
    stunning
  19. DanielW
    Nov 21, 2006
    10
    One of the finest albums ever written. Opening track "Emily" is one of the best songs ever written. One must be generous and open-minded when approaching Y's, but the rewards are excellent. At times, her lyrics can even be life-changing. Definitely pick this one up.
  20. skyweaponsky
    Nov 21, 2006
    10
    This is a real dream
  21. GuyH
    Nov 23, 2006
    10
    Anyone commenting on this album should have the patience to listen from start to finish at least 10 or so times... Well it isn't conventional pop song writing, it is hard to get a hold of at first but your patience will be rewarded. Ys is stunning - Only Skin and Sawdust together make up the most compelling 30 minutes of music released this year. Yes, this album is that good.
  22. KacyK
    Nov 23, 2006
    9
    I previewed this on iTunes and didn't like it. In particular, Joanna's vocals. A couple of days later, I purchased it and after 2 or 3 listens, I'm fairly smitten with it. I now find her vocals charming and sincere. Beautiful harp and arrangements. Wonderfully escapist.
  23. KenH
    Nov 24, 2006
    1
    This is by far the most overrated album of the year. Just awful
  24. markp
    Nov 26, 2006
    10
    Astonishinly beautiful, albeit a tad bjorkish and kate bushish, but once you over that, lyrics in hand, it is a bold, fresh, gigantic musical piece. Well done to that young californian girl!!
  25. TedB.
    Nov 27, 2006
    2
    Newsom should have stuck to voice work in commercials and cartoons rather than thinking she could sing.
  26. WesleyWillis
    Nov 27, 2006
    10
    I like the way she rock! I like the way she roll! Jovanna Newston is my honey-lover to the Max!
  27. happysad
    Nov 28, 2006
    3
    Another neo-folk (or whatever you call it) record pretty much completely devoided of any soul or passion...or memorable tunes for that matter, having a gimmicky voice is just not enough I'm afraid. String arrangements are nice though...
  28. DavidN
    Nov 28, 2006
    10
    deeply musical, lyrically astonishing, and profoundly moving.
  29. ECanton
    Nov 30, 2006
    10
    Brilliant, Beautiful, one of the best of 2006
  30. JoeE.
    Dec 11, 2006
    10
    Just breathtaking. I hate to sound like a music snob and say something like "People who don't like it just don't understand it," but I feel like a lot of the negative feedback is from people who haven't given it a chance. Give it a try for yourself. More than once. This is definitely an album in which something more can always be found.
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Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Best Album of 2006
9
#9 Most Discussed Album of 2006
17
#17 Most Shared Album of 2006

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Universal acclaim - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 35
  3. Negative: 1 out of 35
  1. BBC collective
    80
    It’s to her great credit that Newsom (literally) plucks artistic triumph from the jaws of cloying whimsy.
    Read full review
  2. The Guardian
    100
    It may well be the most off-putting album released this year. After playing it, there seems every chance it is the also the most astonishing.
    Read full review
  3. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    Newsom has managed to lessen the twee factor of her last record... in the process crafting an album as bewitching as it is odd.
    Read full review
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