The truth is I am disappointed about Sufjan Stevens. I am disappointed that he didn’t continue with his albums for all 50 states project. And I am confounded by the time it is taking me to get used to the electronic mash-ups on his new album, The Age of Adz. It’s not that I’m opposed to Sufjan growing as an artist; it’s just that honestly it’s a lot to take in.
The Age of Adz challenges the listener on many fronts. Sure, the signature Sufjan sounds are here like orchestrated anthems and trilling flutes. Yet, the whole thing is drenched in ambient, electronic blips and beeps uncharacteristic for the folky indie rock wunderkind. Perhaps it is best to think of the album as a remix of an album that never was released. Because certainly that’s how it often sounds—Sufjan songs with a whole other layer of sounds and beats added.
So as 2010 comes to a close and I’m still trying to get my head around a different Sufjan sound, I’m actually reminded of Decomposure (Caleb Mueller), the electronic artist that creates songs out of found sounds. Most notably Mueller developed his album, Vertical Lines A, from the recording of his surroundings on one day.
The blips, beeps, and beats that Sufjan uses on The Age of Adz have a lot in common with what you can find on a Decomposure album. It’s as if Mueller was at the remix board—which is a good thing.
These are organic beats—if you can call electronic noise “organic”. These are ambient noises that find their way into the framework of the orchestrations. Sufjan has employed these electronic means as another set of instruments in his already full set of tools, but he hasn’t merely pasted them on. They are fully integrated into the whole folky, indie vibe.
Those beats, though, really shouldn’t be thought of as a mere addition in the final mix. It seems as if the electronic explorations ended up influencing Sufjan’s vocalizations, landing sometimes somewhere between Rufus Wainwright vaudeville and Prince’s soul-funk balladry. Sufjan lets his voice range and ride along electronic musings in a way that probably would not have happened if the electronic noise had not come to influence the shape of these songs.
What I am confident about is that repeat listening to The Age of Adz will yield great joy. The more I submit myself to Sufjan’s project, and the more I let it work on me via headphones, the more I find myself lost deep in its melancholic charms.
Asthmatic Kitty Records
Decomposure
Indeed–this one’s a simmering stew that gets thicker and warmer the more I indulge. Your comment about “organic” got me thinking–in one sense we think of words like “organic” and “folk” in regards to the sounds of the natural world around us. Well, if you’re willing to make the leap (and I am), then Sufjan sounds as folky as ever. I mean, all those blips and beeps you mention–they are the sound of our Western world now. Clicks of radiators, txt message alerts, alarm clocks, bus gears grinding–this is our “natural world” to a large extent. So, if folk is truly the music of the people, redeeming the saturating ambiance of our everyday lives, then Sufjan is actually even MORE folky then he used to be, and bands like Nickel Creek and The Be Good Tanyas are almost throwback tribute bands!
Anyway–just some thoughts. Thanks for the keen review!