The Milk-Eyed Mender

The Milk-Eyed Mender is the 2004 debut album by Joanna Newsom, released by Drag City on March 23, 2004. Produced and recorded by Noah Georgeson, it features Newsom on a full-size harp alongside Wurlitzer, harpsichord and piano.

The record blends adult concerns with childlike whimsy, drawing on nature imagery, dense vocabulary and ambiguous lyrics. It was widely praised, finishing first on Dusted’s 2004 year-end list and later ranking 47th on Pitchfork’s list of the best albums of the 2000s, and has sold over 200,000 copies in the United States without charting.