AB and Bozar present Joanna Newsom on Wednesday 24 February.
We have collected a few words of praise to get you excited about the unique experience that is Joanna Newsom:
De Standaard ***** The eleven new songs on Divers are orchestrally inspired one moment, then soberly established around sinuous piano or harp sounds the next. Newsom tells metaphoric tales, this time mainly about the passing of time, and comes up with extraordinary turns of events, in both language and music. Read more (Dutch)
Humo **** Divers’ is een plaat die je best zo vaak mogelijk over je heen laat spoelen tot ze via je poriën in je bloedbaan sijpelt, terwijl je mijmert over hoe de tijd – het losse thema van de plaat – alles en iedereen doet opbloeien en dan weer verkruimelt (‘Time, As a Symptom’). Read more (Dutch)
Guardian **** And as time passes and the world grows more cynical with every year, fantasies like the ones Joanna Newsom weaves are what we cling to. Read more
The New York Times **** .. rather brilliant record.... You almost want to hold the whole thing still, flatten it out and study it. Read more
Mojo4music **** In this form, no one comes close to Newsom in terms of epic storytelling. Read more
The Telegraph *** 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. Read more
Uncut **** …to the immense craft and meaning that goes into her songs, and into a performance that, for those of us who can’t play any instrument, let alone a harp – is also one of virtually unimaginable finesse and stamina. Read more
Rollingstone *** Ultimately, Divers, is about things lost with age and progress--wisdom, beauty, innocence, love, mystery. Yet this music always seems to look ahead.... Questlove, Kanye, Kendrick and all other curators of hyper-literate avant-pop: Ball's in your court. Read more
More info on Joanna Newsom at Bozar.