Joanna Newsom with Sir Richard Bishop November 19, 2006

Although Joanna Newsom's Appalachian-meets-avant-garde take on folk music is her most celebrated work, her range is even more inclusive than her solo career suggeststhe classically trained harpist adds a decidedly different, textural sound to Nervous Cop, the noise rock trio that also features Deerhoof's Greg Saunier and Hella's Zach Hill, and she also plays keyboards for the Pleased, another San Francisco-area band more akin to Blondie or Television than her other projects. Despite her extensive musical background, she hadn't sung until she began concentrating on her songs, but her voice -- which has a pure, untrained sound somewhere between a child and a crone -- is the perfect complement to her music.

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