I think Joanna Newsom is one of those artists who you either hate or love. Nothing in between. I belong to the group of people who adore her music, but I've heard from a lot of people things like "this is horrible", "it sounds like somebody is raping a cat" and other opinions. Disagreed.

She has exceptional vocals, which reminds me of vocalists like Bjork, Cocorosie, Fever Ray. Also how many times have you heard/seen somebody playing the harp and being really really good at it? Not too often I would assume. At least I haven't.

I'm not sure what creates such a beautiful atmosphere of the song: either unconventional vocals or majestic harp. Probably both, pretty sure both. "Peach, Plum, Pear" is the song from her debut album The Milk-Eyed Mender, released back in 2004. You can check out her live performance here.

So what do you guys think? Horrible or beautiful?

posted by Anna
June 2013