Joanna’s triptych

Nevada City-born-and-raised Joanna Newsom may date comedian Andy Samberg, but her nearly 125-minute, triple-LP third release, Have One On Me, is rather serious in its larger-than-life, messianic commitment to exploring not just the quote-unquote psych-folk dirt of her foothills roots, so to speak, but also the broader sounds of the fringes of 21st-century chamber-indie avant-garde. Simply put, it’s unique, experimental, ambitious—and seductively successful. Like the last four minutes and 30 seconds of the title track, which—after eight minutes of lovely harp runs and Newsom’s now-familiar, twang-tinged, cherubic alto; inviting banjo; piano; fiddle; horns; percussion and a chamber orchestra into the fold along the way—culminates with an odd-tempo, stompy, waltzlike outro, Newsom reminding to “Love me as you love” while the percussion’s high-hat and tom rolls thunder. Then, she breaks into a whispering “woo-hoo” harmony before a return to the song’s intro-theme arpeggio for a finale. Wow. Interestingly, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Ys, save for “Cosmia,” which I only got into after hearing it sampled by Los Angeles-based producer Exile. Anyway, this one’s the shit. Wouldn’t it be great if she’d play the Crest Theatre? Check out her album at www.dragcity.com.