cobl04
45:33
It's super great, although it's a bit shocking to hear how similar it is to Adz - there's like a full minute where it's quite literally just Vesuvius. Not complaining, but very strange to hear the exact horns and lyrics from that song.
New Sufjan Stevens EP available now
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cobl04
45:33
I've got conflicting thoughts on it... on the one hand, it's relatively trite for a Sufjan song, particularly lyrically. On the other hand, it's genius, it's catchy as fuck and after one listen it's stuck in my head. Love the drums.
cobl04
45:33
after about 117 further listens today, it's fucking sick
Joey788
Refugee
I went through the same process. I thought it was meh at first but it's really grown on me.
cobl04
45:33
Literally every song released so far has been a 10. I am so incredibly hyped. I would have some gripes with some of the basic lyricism, which Sufjan's never really delved into before, but the songs are just so good that it doesn't matter.
iron yuppie
ONE love, blood, life
I figure you are going to love this given how strongly indebted all these tracks are feeling to Age of Adz.
cobl04
45:33
It is RIGHT up my alley. Sugar and Video Game feel quite different to Adz, as there's nothing close to the bubblegum pop (said with all due respect) of those songs on Adz, but I very much appreciate the shift towards more electronics, though I know it's not something many Sufjan fans want. I also think in America and for the first couple mins of Sugar, the Adz stuff is melded with the dark atmospherics of Carrie & Lowell, so it feels like a good evolution to me.
iron yuppie
ONE love, blood, life
One of them has the exact drum machine loop of I Walked.
iron yuppie
ONE love, blood, life
Also Carrie & Lowell is so singular an accomplishment I wouldn't want him to try to replicate it. Mystery of Love and the other stuff from Call Me By Your Name were a nice coda to that period.
cobl04
45:33
My Rajneesh, which is the America b-side, literally features like a minute of Vesuvius.
I really enjoyed this interview with Sufjan on the new album:
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture...an-stevens-ascension-bossy-and-bitchy/616366/
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture...an-stevens-ascension-bossy-and-bitchy/616366/
cobl04
45:33
Looking forward to reading that. I'm in a Sufjan FB group, and the amount of people sooking because he's not making another Illinoise, or writing lyrics like "cmon baby give me some sugar" & "I don't wanna play I don't wanna play your video game" is insane.
iron yuppie
ONE love, blood, life
Interesting read, though I don't at all understand where the author is coming from in talking about Michigan and Illinois as "national mythology" albums. Michigan in particular is far, far away from a celebration or idealization of the United States.
Yeah. Starting the album with a song called "Flint (For the Unemployed and Underpaid)" is kind of a hint.
But I get where he is coming form. I don't think he was implying that those albums were uncritical, or that they themselves were mythologizing the past, but rather that Sufjan had a desire to explore some imagery and thematic strains that are part of the American mythology. I think this applies to a song like John Wayne Gacy Jr, for example. And then there is stuff like Say Yes! to M!ch!gan or Come On! Feel the Illinoise! (those exclamation points crack me up, by the way).
But I get where he is coming form. I don't think he was implying that those albums were uncritical, or that they themselves were mythologizing the past, but rather that Sufjan had a desire to explore some imagery and thematic strains that are part of the American mythology. I think this applies to a song like John Wayne Gacy Jr, for example. And then there is stuff like Say Yes! to M!ch!gan or Come On! Feel the Illinoise! (those exclamation points crack me up, by the way).
iron yuppie
ONE love, blood, life
I agree there's a hopefulness there, almost like Bono's hackneyed "America as an idea" line. Vito's Ordination Song is a good example. It's done in that classic Sufjan style where just enough light shines through the malaise. Damn I love that album.
The whole Michigan-Seven Swans-Illinois era is great, so I don't blame people who would like him to return to that. But I'm excited for disenchanted, curmudgeon Sufjan to make a more openly political album. If there with a bunch of other songs in the strain of America.
cobl04
45:33
Vito's Ordination Song is a great song for unrequited love.
cobl04
45:33
The video is stunning.
phanan
Blue Crack Addict
I like all three of these new songs. I might have to venture back into his stuff.
cobl04
45:33
That interview has made me even more excited, particularly "warehouse-techno that sounds like Nine Inch Nails covering A Day in the Life"
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
cobl04
45:33
Fingers crossed! Ruins the song...
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
On first listen, there are maybe 5-6 really great tracks and a bunch of enjoyable ones with nice production that overall don't register a strong response. There are no bad songs, though Die Happy isn't exactly his best work.
I'm going to listen to this with the lyrics in front of me next time. Really good album for sure based on the music and vocal melodies, but the first listen to Carrie & Lowell left me in tears and this is just kinda unremarkable in comparison.
This is nothing like Age of Adz, by the way, and no one should go in expecting that. This is WAY more sedate, borderline ambient in spots. It's more like Planetarium.
I'm going to listen to this with the lyrics in front of me next time. Really good album for sure based on the music and vocal melodies, but the first listen to Carrie & Lowell left me in tears and this is just kinda unremarkable in comparison.
This is nothing like Age of Adz, by the way, and no one should go in expecting that. This is WAY more sedate, borderline ambient in spots. It's more like Planetarium.
This will require more time to form an opinion,
as there is a lot going on. It is quite a new direction for him, which I appreciate. Agree with LM on the ambient influences here. I keep hearing Aphex Twin at times. There are some gorgeous moments. The title song in particular really struck a chord, even if it’s the most traditional/folk-influenced song in the album. It is quite depressing thematically, but a pretty strong summation of Sufjan’s growing pessimism if you compare it to the Christian-infused songs of his early days. And America, the song, continues to be stunning.
as there is a lot going on. It is quite a new direction for him, which I appreciate. Agree with LM on the ambient influences here. I keep hearing Aphex Twin at times. There are some gorgeous moments. The title song in particular really struck a chord, even if it’s the most traditional/folk-influenced song in the album. It is quite depressing thematically, but a pretty strong summation of Sufjan’s growing pessimism if you compare it to the Christian-infused songs of his early days. And America, the song, continues to be stunning.
cobl04
45:33
I’m quite devastated to say it’s nowhere near as good as I thought it would be, the three singles are in the best handful and probably 3 or 4 others are great, Make Me An Offer I Cant Refuse was the one big standout from what I hadn’t heard. Definitely more in line with Planetarium and Aporia than his previous albums. Am sure it will grow on me though!
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