Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

"america is one of the worst songs Sufjan has done"



Lol sure buddy

Album Rating: 5.0

America is great but it does noodle on a bit - they had to shorten it to fit it on the CD version.

Album Rating: 3.0

keep on figthing the good fight flagash

Album Rating: 4.0

kinda insane how hard this flopped

one of his best imo

Album Rating: 4.0

great but nowhere near his best stuff

Album Rating: 4.0

Agreed -- still fairly underrated IMO

Album Rating: 2.5

Absolutely does not hold up imo

Album Rating: 4.0

I don't really listen to it much but there's a stretch across the back half that I remember holding up to some of his very best.

Album Rating: 2.5

There are a couple songs I like but overall this is his weakest album. His most nondescript and least spectacular. I wouldn’t even call this a bad album in the context of the genre and his contemporaries, like it’s fine enough in isolation, but when held up against his previous albums this is relatively weak

Album Rating: 5.0

I used to listen to this several times a day when it came out during lockdown, and I just love it. It has such diversity of style, yet maintains a cohesive, intense, almost insular tone. I really struggle to describe how I feel listening to The Ascension, but it's unique; I definitely get why many don't respond to it.

The stretch from Gilgamesh to Goodbye to All That, leading into the long intro for Sugar is an all-time highlight in his discography.

For me this rivals Illinois as his best. Carrie & Lowell just behind.

Album Rating: 2.5

Wild. I'm gonna spin it again rn because it's been a while, but Idk man. Last time I remember calling it "Diet Sufjan" back in the day. It seemed a bit too scatterbrained and like it wanted to relive the glory days of Adz. Also I remember him not including My Rajneesh, which, at the time, I remember thinking was better than anything on the album.

Album Rating: 5.0

I stuck My Rajneesh on the end of my digital version after America and forgot it wasn't on the actual album until you reminded me then...

I live in Melbourne, and we had 6 months of lockdown over 2020-21, and it was a very isolated time. I am introverted by nature and lockdown was quite enjoyable for me; The Ascension soundtracked that time - seemed to fit the mood perfectly.

In terms of genre, yes - definitely all over the place - but the mood and tone ties it all together for me. Even Video Game has this otherworldly kind of undertone that most either don't feel or don't appreciate, and that video with the TikTok girl complemented it perfectly.

It's different to Age of Adz - more inwardly intense - but it's definitely the closest comparison.

Maybe it's intimate connection to a specific time and place leads me to overrate it, but I genuinely adore it.