Joanna Newsom // Divers

We, the human race, should be admired for our willingness to persist in our constant struggle against the realities of mortal existence. We’re highly practiced in fighting these realities, and yet we seem to perpetually lack any effective means of suppressing our fear of our own rapidly approaching demise, let alone digesting the idea that we will someday be completely forgotten, since we can leave no permanent trace on this tiny sphere of life wherein nuclear weapons are accumulating, oceans are rising, and the atmosphere is gradually baking us alive.

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, Newsom explores and observes the fall of the would-be hero, the commemoration of those few who succeed in being remembered as heroes (whether they truly deserve the title or not), and the weirdness of our obsession with being preserved.

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) that “Sapokanikan” laments the twisted, biased, and overall unjust way in which our society records the past. So many deserving people have been flattened by the bulldozer of history, while buffoons like Christopher Columbus and mass murderers like Genghis Khan stand tall and proud. In the words of Lord Acton, “Great men are almost always bad men.” Perhaps hindsight isn’t always as clear as we’d like to believe.

It’s evident that Newsom has thought deeply about history. She sings that Sapokanikan, a Lenape village that existed 400 years ago in the place where Greenwich Village now stands, “is sanded and bevelled, the land lone and leveled by some unrecorded and powerful hand.” There’s some righteous anger here, and some bitter sarcasm—of course we all know who the “unrecorded and powerful hand” was. But Newsom’s goal seems greater than a mere jab at the legacy of European colonists. She’s recording and immortalizing the name of Sapokanikan, a name which is unfamiliar to most people until they hear this song. In a small way, Newsom is righting a historical wrong. She’s introducing thousands of people to this piece of unrecorded history. She’s singing about the people who are truly gone, who don’t live on in anyone’s thoughts. “The causes they died for are lost in the idling bird calls,” she laments. It’s occurred to me that Newsom doesn’t use obscure references to be pretentious, but to immortalize the names of those who have been almost completely forgotten. This song is an ode to them, and to those who are still alive and are afraid of fading into obscurity.

, but she’s come a long way from the relatively plain song structure and instrumentation of the songs on that album. Of course, indie folk will never forget the gorgeous, almost childlike simplicity of

and

,” but Newsom has moved on from pure folk music to more baroque tendencies, and since I don’t think she’s ever written anything more stunning than “Sapokanikan” before, I’m not complaining.

. It’s one of those albums that you can listen through dozens of times and still discover new, delightful subtleties every time. Newsom does not half-ass anything, nor does she understand the concept of “filler.” Every song is a jewel.

sounds painstakingly precise. The extensive arsenal of orchestral, folk, rock, and pop instruments layers together perfectly, while Newsom’s powerful soprano voice floats on top with triumphant clarity. You can especially hear the importance of the mixing in moments such as the perfectly united countermelodies of piano and xylophone in the title track; the rich layers of horns over piano, harp, and a surprisingly groovy drum beat in the chorus of “Leaving the City”; and the gradual orchestral buildup and battle-cry ending of closer “Time As a Symptom.” The attention to detail in every moment of every song is almost overwhelming.

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, but I’d better stop myself. Instead, I’ll settle for a conclusive summary: It’s intricate, sophisticated, and beautiful, but it never succumbs to obnoxious prog-folk narcissism. The ear candy to be found in the harmonious layers of instrumentation and vocals, the poignant, imaginative lyrics, and the little subtleties hidden in every chord and every melody, all together warrant many, many repeated listens. This is Joanna Newsom’s strongest work to date, and one of the best albums of the year. If this album gets the lasting attention it deserves, she won’t have to worry about being forgotten and “lost in the idling bird calls,” at least as long as music as we know it lives on.

BEST TRACKS: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11

RIYL: Indie folk, freak folk, baroque pop, chamber pop, singer-songwriter, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush

GRADE: A

Divers is out October 23 on Drag City.

Jeff Holland is a freshman from Cleveland, Ohio. He hosts a low-key, chill indie show called “Mellow Melodies” from 10-11 AM on Tuesdays.