This two-hour long opus kicks off with the song “Easy,” and the tune would suggest that the triple-album would be just that: an easy listen.  However, this collection’s greatest strength may also be its only weakness.

In an era of tweeting and 3-minute YouTube videos, do audiences have time to listen to 18 songs of fluttering harp arranged alongside banjo, piano, kaval, strings, and a bevy of other pleasing sounds?

The answer should be “Yes.”

Joanna Newsom? has said in interviews that she intended for the album to be heard in one sitting.  This is not necessarily an album to listen to on your trip to the grocery for some cheap wine.  It’s more like an album to listen to in your dimly lit living room while you get drunk on said wine.

By the time Newsom sings “I found a little plot of land in the Garden of Eden…I tilled it with my two hands and I called it my very own,” over plucked harp strings on “’81” – the albums’ third song — listeners should want to settle into the garden with her.

The journey is enjoyable.  It’s hard not to get lost in the rise and fall of the songs’ movements.  She gives us plenty of time to settle into songs like “In California” and “Go Long,” both of which clock in at over eight minutes long.  

While both compositions feature numerous, distinct, movements; the parts are still perfectly woven together. “In California” takes listeners on an emotional journey: soothing the ears with Newsom’s delicate yet assertive vocals laid over harp, creating tension with a piano’s bass notes and a pounding timpani, and closing the song over bouncy chords and a hint of plucked banjo.

Still, for as much as the album has musical punch, Newsome is also a skilled lyricist with a gift for rhyme.  It is apparent that her words are carefully crafted over melodies that are both unique and accessible at the very same time.

On “’81”, phrases like “The whole place had just cleared right out.  It was hotter than hell, so I lay me by a spring for a spell, as naked as a trout,” evoke vivid imagery and fit perfectly over the dreamy sound of Newsom’s ever-present harp.

The album is laced with plenty of memorable lines to keep your attention. “Easy” evokes gruesome childhood memories with Newsome singing, “like a bloody Mary seen in your mirror, say my name and I’ll appear.” 

On “Good Intentions Paving Co.” she sings the very words that may describe the way she wants listeners to approach an album meant for attentive listening: “I can see that you're wearing your staying hat, darlin'.  For the time being all is well.  Won't you love me a spell?”