Joanna Newsom’s last album, Ys, was five tracks of long-form harp pop. Her new album, Have One on Me, is a three-disc, two-hour marathon that is at least partially about spiders, nobility, pirates and ironically named imaginary paving companies. To say that Newsom plays by her own rules isn’t exactly accurate — she has no rules. And that is exactly what makes her music so spellbinding. From minute to minute, there’s no telling if a song will turn into a grave piano dirge or an airy dream sequence, but with Newsom, there is always the captivating possibility that it will be neither.

The most polarizing aspect of Newsom’s music — her singing voice — is significantly dialed back on Have One on Me. As opposed to Ys, Newsom now retains her whimsical presence without sounding like a woodland creature from a Disney movie. That doesn’t stop her from sounding otherworldly, though — it’s hard to imagine that she lives in the same time and place as her listener. When she sings about blackberries on “Esme,” you know she’s not talking about cellphones.

Among the album’s highlights are the title track — the only 11-minute song I’ve ever wished was longer — and “Baby Birch,” which starts slowly and patiently builds momentum with gentle washes of electric guitar and handclaps. Other highlights are too numerous to mention; somehow, there isn’t a wasted second on any of the three discs.

Most importantly, Have One on Me doesn’t suffer from the same fatal flaw as Newsom’s previous releases — it doesn’t take a lot of hard work to enjoy this album. The arrangements are warm, the vocals are inviting and the narratives are captivating, if occasionally hard to follow. The fact that Newsom was operating on a different level than everyone else was never in question. Now we know for sure it’s a higher level.