Joanna Newsom - Divers
Joanna Newsom - Divers
This was worth the wait.
Five years after her expansive masterpiece of a triple (!) album, Have One On Me, Joanna Newsom returns with the shorter, tighter, and more soulful Divers.
I’d talk about the diverging opinions about Newsom, about people’s feelings about her voice, etc. But honestly, I can’t really form a cohesive argument against a viewpoint that I don’t understand. She’s a genius, and if you can’t see it, it’s your fault.
OK, I’ll say one thing. Of all the artists I’ve grown to truly love, almost none has appealed to me completely on the first listen. There’s always been something that I found grating, or unpleasant. In every single case, the element that irked me came to be a large part of why I eventually fell for it.
Greatness sounds strange when you first hear it.
Anyway, Divers. I’ll keep it short. It’s great. It’s a bit more back to basics than her previous two records; more folksy, more guitar. And as I said, the songwriting is tighter. Not that she’s ever been sloppy or loose, but she’s always been expansive, and this is less so.
Super highly recommended. This is top ten material for me. Listen to it.
Listen below.
Highlights: Sapokanikan • Goose Eggs • Waltz Of The 101st Lightborne
If you liked this record - maybe you’ll like:
