Album Rating: 5.0

besides his best albums are the two that came out of it, the history and culture of a state is such an interesting source of material

Album Rating: 5.0

I don't get this 'filler' complaint made by many, those tracks are just intros and outros taking as little as (infamously) 6 seconds. A few listens will reveal that the album boils down to 13 songs, plus a couple of proper instrumentals with the rest being linking material, which works well as much of the album is a continuous suite.



You can always tell those that haven't listened much because their highlights are very different from people who've listened 20+ times. For the latter, the highlights invariably are Predatory Wasp, and Night Zombies. These are complex, highly polyphonous tracks, just listen carefully to how many harmonious parts are at work on these. It takes a few listens before one can absorb it all. This is rare and special thing in any form of music these days, in fact I have to go back to Wagner (Meistersinger) for any parallel.



Having listened to this album since its release 4 years ago, it's become quite familiar, but there are many moments that still delight. If you like musical compositions rather than just raw songs then trust me, this is a major work and utterly rewarding. It's long (75 mins) and complex, so don't expect to understand it all on your first listen.

I'm not sure if my favorite song from this is either "Come On! Feel The Illinoise!: Part I: The World's Columbian Exposition/Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream" or "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!" or "The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders: Part I: The Great Frontier/Part II: Come To Me Only With Playthings Now" It's a toss up. Occasionally I like to repeat "Out of Egypt, Into the Great Laugh of Mankind, and I Shake the Dirt From My Sandals As I Run", but mostly either "Come On! Feel The Illinoise!: Part I: The World's Columbian Exposition/Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream" or "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!"

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

this record + me = lovers

it's like an indie pop version of frances the mute

indie staple tbh

another staple i can't get into lawls

also i saw sufjan live at atp ny playing seven swans he's a major cutie


and it was really good

Album Rating: 5.0

klap, stop jerking off to Phoenix and start enjoying some REAL indie... gee-wilikers.



My friend recently saw him live in some really small show in Toronto, apparently he played some of his new songs, not BQE or anything, but real live songs with words and stuff! Apparently they were all reall awesome and kinda reminiscent of You Are the Blood, like 7-10 minutes each. I saw one of them on Youtube, epic shit.

Album Rating: 5.0

note: that is the second consecutive day that I've used "gee-wilikers"....



Am... Am I bad person?

another staple i can't get into lawls

Album Rating: 5.0

michigan is way better than this go on

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

Illinois > Seven Swans > Michigan

Only 4 songs in, and this is already amazing

Album Rating: 5.0

A folk singer in spirit rather then practice, Sufjan Stevens has a great sense of very personal storytelling but his sense of scope if far more then the stripped down approach compared to say, Conor Oberst. This album is quite a long and dense album, around 74 minutes. But unlike quite a lot of people, I don't think any of it is filler, any of the instrumentals are short and beautiful enough to keep your attention and Steven's honest and clever lyrics shine through the ever changing instruments. The album begins with a short piano and flute tune, but moves into more dramatic material when it reaches its third track "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!". This two-part epic does a superb job of showcasing just how good of a songwriter Sufjan really is. The first half is more happy and sing along, but leads into a story of Stevens being visited by Carl Sandburg in a dream. The emotion hits you from the minute Sufjan sings "I cried myself to sleep last night". Although I personally have never been to Illinois, I think this album does a terrific job of showing an honest look at America in general. In the epic 6 minute Chicago, Stevens sells his clothes to the states, drive to New York in a van with his friend, and cries for freedom. It presents the very American idea of moving around and pursuing what we want out of life. The rest of the album is the same story. "Man of Metropolis" deals with Superman, with its hushed verses and superb choral singing, I never got bored listening to this album. The several darker tracks, "John Wayne Gacy, Jr" and "The Seer's Tower" both have a great mood. Gacy in particular has a great story, creating a story of a serial killer clown, who surprisingly, Sufjan even compares himself too. When I really want to list all the great songs on this album such as "Casamir Pulaski Day" and "Jacsonville", I'm just gonna finish this review simply stating that the message on this album is so very clear when you finish. All things go

Album Rating: 4.5

Cool story bro/nice sound-off/welcome to Sputnik

haha this album is so awesome

2nd half of third song is best thing in music ever asdf

Album Rating: 5.0

@tabelz



You don't post reviews/sound-offs in the comments section, bro.

Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

no filler on here

Album Rating: 5.0

I have legitimately found a new male to go gay for!