Ys

Ys (2006) is Joanna Newsom's second album, built around her harp playing and idiosyncratic high-register voice, with long, multi-part songs that blend folk roots, chamber pop textures, and orchestral arrangements by Van Dyke Parks. The record contrasts sparse acoustic passages with elaborate strings and brass, and features dense, literary lyricism and unconventional song structures that expanded Newsom's sound beyond her earlier, more minimal recordings.