Brits agree! Ys is "astonishing"!

Two Joanna Newsom posts in a row? Yes.

Newsom's Ys is racking up rave reviews from pretty much every media outlet. In fact, the only bad review I found was from Rolling Stone, which gave Ys two stars out of five, called it an EP and said her voice makes Bjork sound like Kelly Clarkson. Normally I would be frustrated with reviewer Christian Hoard and chastise him for naming Brad Paisley's "Alcohol" his favorite single of 2005. But I'd rather Joanna not get the Rolling Stone audience.

Curiously, the three British reviews I read all called the album "astonishing," which I guess must be a very popular word over there.

From the BBC: "The orchestra compliment without intruding on Newsom's harp and astonishing range of melody..."

From Uncut: "Uncut’s editor compares "Ys" to Nico’s "Marble Index", for its astonishing single-mindedness..."

From the Guardian: "The lyric book goes on and on like the Gobi Desert. It may well be the most off-putting album released this year. After playing it, there seems every chance it is the also the most astonishing."

If this album weren't so blatantly astonishing, I'd call plagiarism.