The Milk-Eyed Mender

The Milk-Eyed Mender, by Joanna Newsom (Drag City Records). New folk.

Joanna Newsom's sound has no reference point in singer-songwriter folk; she plays a Celtic harp and her songs shine with psychedelic, fairytale imagery. Then there is her voice, an otherworldly instrument full of odd squeaks and passing tones that suggest helium as an inhalant. But the sound grows on the listener to the point where tender songs like "Bridges and Balloons" and "Sprout and the Bean" demand repeated listening. Then there is the bittersweet "Sadie," in which Newsom sings: "And all day long we talk about mercy / Lead me to water, Lord, I sure am thirsty."

Louis R. Carlozo, an entertainment editor and staff writer at the Chicago Tribune, an independent record producer and a studio musician.

COPYRIGHT 2005 The Christian Century Foundation
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