ARTIST:
SUFJAN STEVENS


ALBUM:
THE AGE OF ADZ


KEY TRACKS:
I WANT TO BE WELL
FUTILE DEVICES
IMPOSSIBLE SOUL
VESUVIUS
NOW THAT I'M OLDER


"I would say I love you, but saying it out loud is hard"


Why do we love who we love?  What is it that attracts us to each other?  How can we describe a feeling or a moment in which it's like time stops?  This is what my love for Sufjan Stevens's music is.  It's difficult to explain my love for him because Sufjan's music stirs such a unique and indescribable love from me.  He is, without a doubt, my most favorite musical artist.  And with that comes my longest review yet: 


If you're familiar with Sufjan Stevens, then you're aware that his music is a very heavy thing.  Stevens himself is a very quiet and mysterious individual but there is such an incredible vulnerability to his music.  His music is a modern tapestry of his life:  musical compositions with cryptic bits and pieces about him and his past woven into his songs.  His albums can be a bit of a cerebral experience but when blended with such rich and layered instrumentals (Sufjan is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist) you can't help but stop yourself and simply listen.   


Stevens also has a true gift for composition.  Sufjan's instrumentals are some of the most beautiful, remarkable things I have ever heard.  It's the only music that can really, truly elicit a physical reaction.  After 5 years as a devoted listener his music still gives me the chills.  His musical subjects are also particularly unique, ranging from family relationships, the places he's lived, biblical themes, and even the Chinese astrological chart (?).  But in The Age of Adz, a title derived from schizophrenic artist Royal Robertson, Sufjan explores the vastness and ever changing temperance of mental and physical illness.    

Sounds like a downer, right?  Ironically not!  However, I would be lying if i said I liked this right off the bat.  Even though it's Sufjan Stevens, this album was certainly a grower for me.  I'm used to banjo playing, wing-wearing, folk sounding Sufjan.  And while he hasn't shed his wings, there is an extreme electronic, bombastic, neon-wearing noisy sound to this release.  This was not a Sufjan Stevens that I recognized, it was one that I had to get to know. 


There is an interesting back story to this album.  Leading up to this release, Stevens suffered from a crippling neurological illness which left him in chronic pain and unable to make music for several months.  When he began recording again, Stevens became interested not just in making music but inducing movement and sensation in people.  Perhaps this is the product of being bed ridden for so long, but this album is very much an ode to Sufjan's mental/physical state during and after his illness.  And although the subject matter is intense, this album is such a landmark for Stevens not just because of this radical departure from his folk background, but because it is his most intensely personal album to date.
  
The album's opener, Futile Devices is really the only track on the album that lets me know that the old Sufjan is still in there somewhere.  In this track are some of the most beautiful but subtle lyrics on the album:
                                

 "And I would say I love you

But saying it out loud...is hard

So I won't say it at all

And I won't stay very long

It's a true jewel box of a song.  But from there all that subtle beauty is thrown out the window as we progress into heavy noise-laden compositions like Too Much, Age of Adz, and Get Real Get Right.  The album still has some lovely slow points in Now That I'm Older and Vesuvius.  

Now That I'm Older is the first deeply personal track from Stevens.  With echoing vocals lamenting past mistakes and how difficult it is to grow in life.  This is such a treat to hear insight from Stevens.  There are no metaphors here, no religious or political imagery.  This is Sufjan himself discussing his experiences, his emotions, and in his own words.  The song does give a sense of resolution in the lyric:  "I'm feeling it's so much righter now...now that I'm older".  A very lovely track overall.  

Vesuvius continues that deep sense of intimacy.  I believe this song explores some of the themes of illness Stevens experienced as it talks about an internal battle within himself (he even names himself in the song).  The duality of health and illness are likened to the "flame" and a "murdering ghost" respectively:

"Sufjan, follow the path...

Sufjan, follow your heart

Follow the flame

Or fall on the floor

Sufjan, the panic inside

The murdering ghost, That you cannot ignore"

The duality continues towards the end as he asks the fire to "follow me now" or "follow me down".  This is the price of mental/physical illness:  the anxiety and oppression it stirs within, perhaps even confinement within yourself.  A very complex and interesting track that suggests the internal stubble Stevens endured.  

Perhaps the most raw exposure Stevens gets on the album is on my favorite track:  I Want to be Well.  Here he discusses all the implications of his illness (or is it Royal Robertson's?):  "I'm suffering in the noise"  Stevens cries, "everywhere you look, everywhere you turn, illness is watching, waiting it's turn" and "preying on the lonely".  But perhaps the most vulnerable, and most disturbing is the bridge:

"Shall I kiss you even as you take me that way?

With a pill or demon, as my body changes

Apparitions gone awry

They surround me, all sides" 

So, laden with frustration, Sufjan does the only thing he can do and beg "I want to be well, I want to be well" repeatedly.  And then just to show exactly how serious he is.  Sufjan does a first:  he drops the F-bomb:  "I'm not fuckin' around" he shouts, "I'm not!".  And although very dark, something really resonated with me when I heard the lyrics to this track.  It's a very interesting listen.

Last is the albums 25 minute long epic/glorious closer Impossible Soul.  This song really isn't a song at all, it's more of a mini album.  In 25 minutes, Sufjan's emotions range from sadness, to suffering, to wild joy.  But what's most delightful from this track is the last 3 minutes of this track, nicknamed "The Pleasure Principle".  It's just Sufjan and a guitar for those last 3 minutes, the old Sufjan.  And so at this point the album has come full circle, it opens (Futile Devices) and closes with this one last little gem of the old Sufjan Stevens.  

I think Stevens really challenged his listeners with this album.  It's unexpected and difficult at times.  But when you peel apart the layers, Sufjan's brilliance with songwriting and composition are still very much there.  And although Stevens remarks that he's an "impossible soul", what he doesn't realize is that it's impossible not to love his music.  

LISTEN:  I WANT TO BE WELL  |  FUTILE DEVICES |  VESUVIUS  |  NOW THAT I'M OLDER  |  IMPOSSIBLE SOUL 

  

NEXT WEEK:  DAFT PUNK  |  TRON: LEGACY