Summary:The fourth full-length release for the singer-songwriter features the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and arrangements by Nico Muhly and David Longstreth.
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Record Label:Drag City
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Indie Folk
Joanna Newsom’s fourth full-length, Divers, haunts you like an unanswered question. That’s what makes it so engrossing. You don’t listen to it to figure out what it means. You play it to revel in the mystery of the songs and who, exactly, is the marvelous, mercurial creature singing them.
Divers takes another logical step, tightening up from the sprawling consistency of Have One on Me without quite tightening up enough to return to Mender’s folk-pop. This is easily Newsom’s most sumptuously arranged album, with a more eclectic palette of instruments than she’s previously employed.
For the most part Divers is a magic carpet ride that finds Newsom still spinning wild (and generally impenetrable) interwoven yarns with the jaw-dropping dexterity of a modern-day Scheherazade.
Newsom can make her audience work almost as hard as she does, but the rewards are worth it: Dazzling, profound and affecting, Divers' explorations of time only grow richer the more time listeners spend with them.
Newsom can still be a daunting listen, and Divers requires time and attention to fully embrace. Those who do invest in it will find an artist whose highly personal art is edging toward the universal.
Joanna Newsom is becoming repetitive - she has released yet another masterpiece. Divers is an exceptional piece of art. A deep exploration ofJoanna Newsom is becoming repetitive - she has released yet another masterpiece. Divers is an exceptional piece of art. A deep exploration of time, love and what connects the two. It's not as challenging as Have One On Me, nor as approachable as The Milk-Eyed Mender. She has found a middle ground. It's a record where you don't have to delve so deep to find the diamond. The instrumentation is her most experimental to date, and she has done something I have never heard before on an album - echoing melodies throughout the entire album - a brilliant innovation. I applaud this woman.…Expand
Divers is just another pristine and beautiful example of Joanna's unmatched songwriting skills. Compositionally diverse and deep, leavingDivers is just another pristine and beautiful example of Joanna's unmatched songwriting skills. Compositionally diverse and deep, leaving layers to uncover listen after listen. Lyrically poetic, and by poetic I mean, work that stands up to the great poets of our time. And finally Melodically....There is simply no other musician working today that is creating music this evocative and heart rending. Another Masterpiece.…Expand
Each listen uncovers further depth: the musical, lyrical, narrative and thematic connections and interactions between the eleven songs ofEach listen uncovers further depth: the musical, lyrical, narrative and thematic connections and interactions between the eleven songs of Divers are a testament to its intricacy and the extraordinary vision of its creator. Together, these songs form a self-contained world of joy and despair, where each of the album's darker themes (mortality, loss, and time itself figure prominently on the record) is perfectly counterbalanced against strength, courage and love. It's the sort of world you wouldn't mind getting lost in and ending up staying awhile- many will. With this masterpiece of a concept album, Joanna Newsom has further cemented her place as one of the greatest singer-songwriters of our -or any- time.…Collapse
I love Joanna Newsom, and her new Album is just magical. every track is full of personality and delight as each track unfolds into this wonderI love Joanna Newsom, and her new Album is just magical. every track is full of personality and delight as each track unfolds into this wonder and awe from a musical, lyrical and narrative standpoint. Go buy it, if u go to the website u can get a really coolbeanz*reference* Cassette version of the album.…Expand
Excellent album, with just enough fairy dust to carry you to Neverland! Perhaps not the most musically original, but it is a powerful lyricalExcellent album, with just enough fairy dust to carry you to Neverland! Perhaps not the most musically original, but it is a powerful lyrical study of time, birth, life, and death.…Expand
Joanna Newsom’s fourth full-length, Divers, haunts you like an unanswered question. That’s what makes it so engrossing. You don’t listen to itJoanna Newsom’s fourth full-length, Divers, haunts you like an unanswered question. That’s what makes it so engrossing. You don’t listen to it to figure out what it means. You play it to revel in the mystery of the songs and who, exactly, is the marvelous, mercurial creature singing them.…Expand
Pretentious drivel. I can’t understand what she’s saying and not in the good way like the Cocteau Twins. This screaming, shrill vocalist setPretentious drivel. I can’t understand what she’s saying and not in the good way like the Cocteau Twins. This screaming, shrill vocalist set against a lush beautiful orchestra is like going to the dentist and he’s drilling while the radio is on the classical station. If you are a musician and you don’t know your chances to get famous, just put on some Joanna, the Mormon bird woman, and you will feel 1000 times more confident in your abilities. How people can sit and listen to this and treat it like it’s high art is absolutely beyond me. It is beyond pretentious. It’s become a caricature of itself because of how serious people take her music while it sounds like the spirit you hear wailing in the barn at night and it scares the cows so you hire a witch to exorcise the spirit and it doesn’t work so it keeps wailing and wailing its elementary poetry night after night, begging for an audience. I truly believe if she were unattractive, my view would be more popular. Oh Lord save your ears.…Expand