Have One on Me review

The long-awaited disc Have One On Me

The name of the American singer-songwriter, harpist and pianist Joanna Newsom is hardly known to the widest auditory. It is of no wonder, as in spite of the delightful arrangements and tunes, her music is not pop in all senses. Nevertheless, the creations by Joanna are highly appreciated in musical circles while her fans eagerly cheer each her new long-play. This time, the appreciators of Newsom’s songs had to wait for four years. However, the disc Have One On Me was definitely worth waiting – the artist not only greatly grew up in these years in the musical and lyrical matters, but she also presented the listeners with almost two hours of her unusual masterpieces. The disc has no less then eighteen compositions, each of them being a real revelation for the public. You can never guess what this or that melody can finish with, which speech figure the artist will use in the next second. For four years of work over this record, the life of Newsom also gave several unexpected hooks – she parted with her boyfriend Bill Callahan and started dating a comic Andy Samberg. Now more of her songs are dedicated to private life, its problems and breakups, the beginning of something new in life. Her new full-length Have One On Me is not only a powerful come back on the big scene, but it is also an artist’s transition to a new level.

Unexpected solutions and unpredictable metaphors

Of course, for four years, Joanna changed and grew up as a performer, but one of her best songs characteristic features – unusual, bright metaphors – stayed unchanged. Her music also preserved its identity, with the rich use of harp and piano. The album opens with the playful rock track Easy, in which Joanna dreams of her life with the young man right according to the title. The album-titling composition Have One On Me starts with the jazzy harp chords, and then it develops into a cute folk tune with clear and penetrating singer’s vocals, and takes us back to her debut record The Milk-Eyed Mender. In a gorgeous, road track Good Intentions Paving Company you can find banjo, piano, horns different percussions, while the tune makes whimsical nods to blues, country and classical pop music. Dedicated to the love relations wonderful composition In California will amuse the listeners with the ethereal binding of the thrilling Joanna’s vocals, brass wind instruments and strikingly sad atmosphere. If you are fond of songs, in which the bright female vocals, demonstrating all the tints of emotions, makes duet with the harp play, you are sure to love such balladry pieces as Esme and Jackarabbit. The emotionally colorful, rich with the unexpected melodic moves and thoughts, this disc finishes with the powerful composition about a breakup Does Not Suffice.

The musical triptych from Joanna Newsom

The album Have One On Me lasts for about two hours. However, these two hours will fly for you unnoticeably in the company of Joanna Newsom. If you use the vinyl approach, it is three long-plays in one disc. All the album parts are united with the common topic of the relations and a bright palette of the singer’s emotions. She not only broadened the list of happenings that make her compositions, but she also started to use more musical genres – from folk she moved to pop music, blues, jazz, country and rock. Her texts became deeper, while the vocals now reflect the feelings more precisely in the same tinkling and pleasant way. We can say that Have One On Me is the musical picture of Joanna’s interpersonal relations. If earlier she dedicated the songs to her hotly loved adored sister and other relatives, now she started to write lyrics under the impression of some men that influenced miss Newsom this or that way. Besides, thanks to the division of the disc in three parts, Joanna made it possible for the listeners to digest her work gradually – at first, the beginning of the trilogy, after that, the second part, and finally the closing disc. We can say that the disc Have One On Me, on which the artist managed not to make a repeat for almost two hours, became the reflection of her rich and diverse, sometimes unpredictable, but always attractive nature.