Songstress Joanna Newsom’s new album “Have One On Me” is like St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow. It’s big and at first glance even beautiful, but its grandiose nature hurts the senses.

This is not to suggest that Newsom’s music is garish; it’s in fact quite the opposite. But the amount of content in her most recent release is overwhelming.

Newsom had not released an album since 2006’s “Ys,” a record which won her critical acclaim. She said leading up to the release of “Have One On Me” that she had considered releasing two albums, but ultimately decided to compile it into one big record.

And big it is. The three-disc set clocks in at more than two hours. There are no artists who can hold the attention of a majority of the populace for that long. Hardcore Newsom fans will disagree with this sentiment, but if an average listener chose this as their first dose of Newsom’s music, they would most likely give up before the third disc.

In Newsom’s defense however, none of the music is “filler.” All of the songwriting is quality in nature and Newsom’s signature harp-based sound is as unique as ever. The orchestral arrangements added by Van Dyke Parks help to liven up Newsom’s sound. “Good Intentions Paving Company” is the liveliest of the bunch, although it features Newsom on the piano as opposed to the harp.

Newsom is simply one of the most talented lyricists in music. Her songs never feature traditional refrains and rarely repeat lines even when many of her tunes approach 10 minutes in length. The fact that she can memorize the lyrics is impressive enough, but the fact that she sings them in her distinctive warble while playing an instrument is incredible.

While noteworthy, her songwriting could also work against her. Song refrains are referred to as “hooks” because that’s what they do: hook in listeners. Newsom’s music is very pretty, but it’s easy to zone out on the lyrics because there is nothing to anchor onto as a listener. Figure in that 14 of the album’s 18 tracks are over six minutes in length and it’s easy to get lost.

Again, it must be said that Newsom’s music is not bad. It’s simply that when most of the music is based around the harp, it will quickly run together for a non-discerning listener. Hopefully, if Newsom waits another three years to have a new release, she’ll go ahead and release two records instead of one leviathan album. Newsom fans: you won’t be disappointed. For those who are new to her music, try “Ys” first.