Joanna Sternberg albums

2023

I’ve Got Me - 84%

Sternberg has such a frolicking method of storytelling that it is impossible to resist her charm. The songs are also of a great quality and growth compared to her last record, Then I Try Some More (2019) which did mark them as a talent in the vein of Joanna Newsom or Daniel Johnston. Like those artists, the music seems to just sound eternal- “I’ve Got Me” makes the opening statement like many folk troubadours from the 1950’s or 60’s would. Its sparse and lovely just like the following gospel hymn, “I Will Be With You”. “Stockholm Syndrome” follows this too with a playful quality and lyrics that sound like they come from the mind of an innocent soul, taking a serious topic and comparing it to being in a relationship where all they did was clean up after someone.

Surprisingly, Joanna can really rock as well as "People are Toys to You" is their version of a hard rock song, just loud enough to be heard and the brief “Human Magnet Song” is so catchy it could be as old as time. The influence of Carol King or Laura Nyro is heard with the quiet “Right Here” and the soulful yelp of “She Dreams”. In all, Joanna Sternberg’s music could really go anywhere from here, as it has the quality of a sketch drawn in a cloud, it is built to last but also transparent and able to be seen through easily. The five minute epic closer “The Song” is the apotheosis of their style, stating “If I had anything left to lose/ then I wouldn’t be playing the blues.”

Best Songs: People are Toys to You, The Song, She Dreams, Human Magnet Song