Sufjan Stevens :: Age Of Adz

**Shadowcliff** · 11-17-2010, 10:00 PM

(pronounced "odds")

Oh my.
Sufjan is going crazy.

Remember Illinoise? 5 years ago? Yes, it's really been 5 years since he's produced a full-length album. It was so innocent. Soft, coherent, folky.

A lot has changed in 5 years.
I got the new Age Of Adz album two nights ago - came out last month - and I am sincerely stunned. This is not what I would have expected him to do.

The first song, Futile Devices, is (or, was what I thought would be) the Sufjan I remember. "It's been a long, long time since I've memorized your face." It's pretty subtle, mellow, and soothing.
Then you get to the next song, "Too Much". This is where it starts getting bizarre.
All kinds of little blips and technical noises and whatnot. This is present throughout the rest of the album. It's like a cross of his old stuff, his new thoughts, some noise, and some MGMT.

My favorite song so far: Age Of Adz.
Extremely dramatic intro, then it quiets to a Sufjan vocal that I've never heard from him. Sounds like he's disturbed. And the rest of the song is just amazing. The following line kind of shows his emotional issues and reflects his physical struggle mentioned below: "I've lost the will to fiight; I am not made for life." You have to give it a listen.

(Other songs that stick out in my mind:
I Want To Be Well - Sufjan seems pretty serious. Toward the end everything kind of builds up loudly; chorus is singing "I want to be well" while Sufjan is singing "I'm not f---ing around"
Vesuvius - Another toned-down song, he references himself in third person as a sort of monster
Impossible Soul - Hold god damn 25 minutes. I actually listened to the whole thing today, and it's not bad. Ends the album on "Boy, we can do so much together, it's not so impossible.")

There's actually an explanation to all of the electronic noise in the songs.
And an explanation of what happened to his style.

First:
There is this visual artist. His name is Royal Robertson. He is schizophrenic and paranoid, and his art has a lot of sci-fi basis. Sufjan, using one of Royal's pieces as his album cover (look above), incorporated this into his album. He attempted to bring the paintings to music life by adding some futurism to his music (and I do have to say, something with this style is completely unique and ahead of its time- that, or I'm just completely missing a whole scene of music like this).

Second:
Sufjan, sadly (or maybe not), is bored and dissatisfied with his old style. You don't hear one banjo in the entire album. But there are fleeting sections of just guitar + voice that sound excellent even when considering it with the rest of the song. I mean, I could describe the song Age Of Adz as a rethought, rearranged darker version of Come On! Feel The Illinoise.
In addition halfway through writing the album, he suffered through a virus that messed with his nervous system. Experience extreme pain. Not sure what virus it was. Throw that into this scheme.

So yeah, I think he's going crazy. But he's still a genius.

**gnr61** · 11-17-2010, 11:54 PM

nice post
as much love as i have for all of illinoise, my favorite track by far is "come on feel the illinoise," the one you astutely compare as a sort of folk-arranged prelude to this album

despite all the electronic fits i think his vocal delivery has changed the most between the two albums; his almost-whisper in his previous work, while affecting, keeps the songs from being as dynamic as they could be. here he shouts and wails and pinches his voice to the peak of its range--the style reminds me alternately of strawberry-jam period Avey Tare and Thom Yorke in his freakout mode (i also get a sort of pop-ified radiohead sense from the album as a whole).

overall after like 8 full spins i really like this album. the obvious temptation is to compare it to his old style and judge it from there (and i have friends who hate it for this reason), but taken independently i think its nothing short of terrific

RobertsonaIsBack · 11-18-2010, 02:59 PM

some people (i.e. sputnikmusic, the site i hang out on) are hailing this as the next coming of jesus which i dont think is true but its awesome

the first, third and last tracks are all amazing

**Shadowcliff** · 11-18-2010, 05:40 PM

I've spun through the album many times while doing homework, and each listens makes me more and more attached.

As for his voice, yes, it's changed. But I still see dynamics. [The song] Age of Adz is a great example of going from shouting to soft to whispering. Futile Devices and Vesuvius compare to his previously hushed vocals.
(can't say that I'm a huge fan of the autotuning in Impossible Soul, though. At least it's used as creative input rather than actual correction.)

RobertsonaIsBack · 11-18-2010, 05:58 PM

When it diiii-iiiessss

when it diiiessss

**Shadowcliff** · 11-18-2010, 06:12 PM

It rots....

I love that. and

Gloria
Gloria
(it rots)
Don't go

**HoneyMelonCalibrator** · 11-21-2010, 03:46 PM

His older stuff is better.

**Shadowcliff** · 11-21-2010, 06:08 PM

I don't know. The more I listen, the more I get into all of it. I don't think album is better than another. I recently got the All Delighted People EP, his first album A Sun Came!, and Seven Swans. It's all really really good. Sufjan can basically do anything and it'll be genius.

I want him to dabble further into electronics, because I like the way he uses it but still wouldn't catch the attention of an "instant gratification"-likened group of listeners. Before I listened I was told Age Of Adz was electronic, but I thought it was going to be the selling-out, electronic-just-to-be-catchy kind of electronic.

11-17-2010, 10:00 PM	#1
Shadowcliff FFR Veteran Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Cary, NC Age: 29 Posts: 695	Sufjan Stevens :: Age Of Adz (pronounced "odds") Oh my. Sufjan is going crazy. Remember Illinoise? 5 years ago? Yes, it's really been 5 years since he's produced a full-length album. It was so innocent. Soft, coherent, folky. A lot has changed in 5 years. I got the new Age Of Adz album two nights ago - came out last month - and I am sincerely stunned. This is not what I would have expected him to do. The first song, Futile Devices, is (or, was what I thought would be) the Sufjan I remember. "It's been a long, long time since I've memorized your face." It's pretty subtle, mellow, and soothing. Then you get to the next song, "Too Much". This is where it starts getting bizarre. All kinds of little blips and technical noises and whatnot. This is present throughout the rest of the album. It's like a cross of his old stuff, his new thoughts, some noise, and some MGMT. My favorite song so far: Age Of Adz. Extremely dramatic intro, then it quiets to a Sufjan vocal that I've never heard from him. Sounds like he's disturbed. And the rest of the song is just amazing. The following line kind of shows his emotional issues and reflects his physical struggle mentioned below: "I've lost the will to fiight; I am not made for life." You have to give it a listen. (Other songs that stick out in my mind: I Want To Be Well - Sufjan seems pretty serious. Toward the end everything kind of builds up loudly; chorus is singing "I want to be well" while Sufjan is singing "I'm not f---ing around" Vesuvius - Another toned-down song, he references himself in third person as a sort of monster Impossible Soul - Hold god damn 25 minutes. I actually listened to the whole thing today, and it's not bad. Ends the album on "Boy, we can do so much together, it's not so impossible.") There's actually an explanation to all of the electronic noise in the songs. And an explanation of what happened to his style. First: There is this visual artist. His name is Royal Robertson. He is schizophrenic and paranoid, and his art has a lot of sci-fi basis. Sufjan, using one of Royal's pieces as his album cover (look above), incorporated this into his album. He attempted to bring the paintings to music life by adding some futurism to his music (and I do have to say, something with this style is completely unique and ahead of its time- that, or I'm just completely missing a whole scene of music like this). Second: Sufjan, sadly (or maybe not), is bored and dissatisfied with his old style. You don't hear one banjo in the entire album. But there are fleeting sections of just guitar + voice that sound excellent even when considering it with the rest of the song. I mean, I could describe the song Age Of Adz as a rethought, rearranged darker version of Come On! Feel The Illinoise. In addition halfway through writing the album, he suffered through a virus that messed with his nervous system. Experience extreme pain. Not sure what virus it was. Throw that into this scheme. So yeah, I think he's going crazy. But he's still a genius. Last edited by Shadowcliff; 11-17-2010 at 10:07 PM..

11-17-2010, 11:54 PM	#2
gnr61 FFR Simfile Author Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: TOKYO STYLE SPEEDCORE, ohio Age: 33 Posts: 7,251	Re: Sufjan Stevens :: Age Of Adz nice post as much love as i have for all of illinoise, my favorite track by far is "come on feel the illinoise," the one you astutely compare as a sort of folk-arranged prelude to this album despite all the electronic fits i think his vocal delivery has changed the most between the two albums; his almost-whisper in his previous work, while affecting, keeps the songs from being as dynamic as they could be. here he shouts and wails and pinches his voice to the peak of its range--the style reminds me alternately of strawberry-jam period Avey Tare and Thom Yorke in his freakout mode (i also get a sort of pop-ified radiohead sense from the album as a whole). overall after like 8 full spins i really like this album. the obvious temptation is to compare it to his old style and judge it from there (and i have friends who hate it for this reason), but taken independently i think its nothing short of terrific __________________ squirrel--it's whats for dinner.

11-18-2010, 05:40 PM	#4
Shadowcliff FFR Veteran Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Cary, NC Age: 29 Posts: 695	Re: Sufjan Stevens :: Age Of Adz I've spun through the album many times while doing homework, and each listens makes me more and more attached. As for his voice, yes, it's changed. But I still see dynamics. [The song] Age of Adz is a great example of going from shouting to soft to whispering. Futile Devices and Vesuvius compare to his previously hushed vocals. (can't say that I'm a huge fan of the autotuning in Impossible Soul, though. At least it's used as creative input rather than actual correction.)

11-18-2010, 06:12 PM	#6
Shadowcliff FFR Veteran Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Cary, NC Age: 29 Posts: 695	Re: Sufjan Stevens :: Age Of Adz It rots.... I love that. and Gloria Gloria (it rots) Don't go

11-21-2010, 06:08 PM	#8
Shadowcliff FFR Veteran Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Cary, NC Age: 29 Posts: 695	Re: Sufjan Stevens :: Age Of Adz I don't know. The more I listen, the more I get into all of it. I don't think album is better than another. I recently got the All Delighted People EP, his first album A Sun Came!, and Seven Swans. It's all really really good. Sufjan can basically do anything and it'll be genius. I want him to dabble further into electronics, because I like the way he uses it but still wouldn't catch the attention of an "instant gratification"-likened group of listeners. Before I listened I was told Age Of Adz was electronic, but I thought it was going to be the selling-out, electronic-just-to-be-catchy kind of electronic.

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