New Sufjan Stevens

ShoulderChip

Listen to it from here http://sufjanstevens.bandcamp.com/

I'm loving it so far, does anyone know if he will do a european tour after his current US tour?
If not I may have to goto america for it!

The EP, All Delighted People, is built around two different versions of Sufjan’s long-form epic ballad "All Delighted People," a dramatic homage to the Apocalypse, existential ennui, and Paul Simon’s "Sounds of Silence." Sounds delightful, yes! The song was originally workshopped (oh we hate making workshop a verb, but time is money!) on Sufjan’s previous tour in the fall of 2009. Other songs on the EP include the 17-minute guitar jam-for-single-mothers "Djohariah," and the gothic piano ballad "The Owl and the Tanager," a live-show mainstay (and Debbie Downer if you ask us; what’s it doing on a "Delighted" EP?). The full track list is available right here.

All Delighted People:

01 All Delighted People (Original Version)
02 Enchanting Ghost
03 Heirloom
04 From the Mouth of Gabriel
05 The Owl and the Tanager
06 All Delighted People (Classic Rock Version)
07 Arnika
08 Djohariah

ShoulderChip

its insanely good, get on it

glad he took a departure from the states project

ShoulderChip

Can not stop listening to Djohoriah especially the last 4/5 mins

S.M.B.

Downloaded this on Friday and I've yet to listen to it. :eek:

Still no sign of Her Majesty Snowbird....

ShoulderChip

I made a new sig for it

mosstin

ShoulderChip wrote: »

Can not stop listening to Djohoriah especially the last 4/5 mins

Er, this is the equivalent of scanning through Crime and Punishment to see if Raskolnikov gets it in the neck. Wonderful song - only Sufjan could get away with 17 minutes of it though.
Personal favourite at the moment apart from the aforementioned is the sublime Heirloom, the simplest and most gorgeous thing he's done in quite a while.

Orando Broom

mosstin wrote: »

Er, this is the equivalent of scanning through Crime and Punishment to see if Raskolnikov gets it in the neck. Wonderful song - only Sufjan could get away with 17 minutes of it though.
Personal favourite at the moment apart from the aforementioned is the sublime Heirloom, the simplest and most gorgeous thing he's done in quite a while.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

ShoulderChip

wowza - 01 SUFJAN STEVENS
Last week we had the pleasure of releasing the All Delighted People EP (available for download for $5 and free stream right here). And the week before we announced a fall tour (tickets are still for sale here, but selling quickly).

And today, we are proud to announce the upcoming release of The Age of Adz (pronounced Odds), the first song-based full-length from Sufjan Stevens since 2005's Illinois. The Age of Adz will drop on October 12th (CD, MP3) with a double-LP following on November 9th.

For the next three weeks you can preorder the CD or LP, and receive an MP3 download on September 28th, two weeks before the release date.

Preorder the CD for $12, LP for $20 here.

It’s much too soon to cast descriptive lots, but we can say the new album sounds nothing like the All Delighted EP (although it shares similar themes of love, loss, and the apocalypse). Nor is this new album built around any conceptual underpinning (no odes to states, astrology, or urban expressways).

We can say it shows an extensive use of electronics (banjos and acoustic guitars give way to drum machines and analog synthesizers), and an obsession with cosmic fantasies (space, heaven, aliens, love), to create an explicit pop-song extravaganza, augmented by heavy orchestration, and maybe even a few danceable moments. Enjoy Your Rabbit meets the BQE. But with songs. Verse, chorus, bridge, backbeat. Gated reverb. Space echo. Get your boogey on.

The “Adz” of the title loosely refers to the apocalyptic paintings of outsider artist Royal Robertson (1930-1997), whose work is used for the album cover, interior design, and as general inspiration for the tone of the album.

lordgoat

ShoulderChip wrote: »

wowza - 01 SUFJAN STEVENS
Last week we had the pleasure of releasing the All Delighted People EP (available for download for $5 and free stream right here). And the week before we announced a fall tour (tickets are still for sale here, but selling quickly).

And today, we are proud to announce the upcoming release of The Age of Adz (pronounced Odds), the first song-based full-length from Sufjan Stevens since 2005's Illinois. The Age of Adz will drop on October 12th (CD, MP3) with a double-LP following on November 9th.

For the next three weeks you can preorder the CD or LP, and receive an MP3 download on September 28th, two weeks before the release date.

Preorder the CD for $12, LP for $20 here.

It’s much too soon to cast descriptive lots, but we can say the new album sounds nothing like the All Delighted EP (although it shares similar themes of love, loss, and the apocalypse). Nor is this new album built around any conceptual underpinning (no odes to states, astrology, or urban expressways).

We can say it shows an extensive use of electronics (banjos and acoustic guitars give way to drum machines and analog synthesizers), and an obsession with cosmic fantasies (space, heaven, aliens, love), to create an explicit pop-song extravaganza, augmented by heavy orchestration, and maybe even a few danceable moments. Enjoy Your Rabbit meets the BQE. But with songs. Verse, chorus, bridge, backbeat. Gated reverb. Space echo. Get your boogey on.

The “Adz” of the title loosely refers to the apocalyptic paintings of outsider artist Royal Robertson (1930-1997), whose work is used for the album cover, interior design, and as general inspiration for the tone of the album.

What site is that from? May as well order the LP.

Ian C

ShoulderChip wrote: »

I'm loving it so far, does anyone know if he will do a european tour after his current US tour?

Very nearly missed this! Didn't know he was touring here. Cheers!

ShoulderChip

lordgoat wrote: »

What site is that from? May as well order the LP.

Its from the Asthmatic Kitty newsletter.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

ShoulderChip

is it good?

I am almost afraid to listen

Fanny Cradock

I had a quick listen to the EP last night. It's good. And at 40 minutes (?) it's well worth $5. Thanks for the tip.

Fanny Cradock

ShoulderChip wrote: »

is it good?

I am almost afraid to listen

It is!

johnny_ultimate

Listening to the EP now, I like! Pre-ordered the album too, has been way too long since a SS album. The BQE was a nice novelty, but it wasn't Illinois.

ShoulderChip

Fanny Cradock wrote: »

It is!

yes it is excellent, hoping the album will be a classic,

loving the EP but its not as big an epic as illinois

big_show

Listening to "I walked" on repeat all weekend, can wait for the new album!

Daysha

I only discovered this thread half an hour ago and I literally haven't stopped listening to "I Walked" since. It's absolutely brilliant, and a great teaser to what should be a cracking album.

Kid V

Cannot wait for the new album after listening to the EP all week. Its stunning, so epic.

This will be on the new album. Horns remind me a bit of his Dark Was The Night contribution 'You Are The Blood'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kfPmInRLts

lordgoat

I walked is so so so good. I'm stunned by it tbh.

Sir Graball

http://www.tribune.ie/arts/article/2010/sep/05/cd-of-the-week-sufjan-stevens/

I'd never heard of this guy till I read this review in the Tribune

Andy Gill rarely gives 5 stars!! Found this thread last night and am listening to Illinoise. Have to say best thing I've heard in ages. Isn't it great when you discover new stuff??!!

SVG

There's another track from the new album available for free download now- too much. I think I prefer I Walked but free Sufjan is always good!

http://asthmatickitty.com/news.php?newsID=616

Colm!

The new Sufjan is great. There mightn't be a track to match Chicago or The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts, but it's quite a good EP.

ShoulderChip

Sir Graball wrote: »

http://www.tribune.ie/arts/article/2010/sep/05/cd-of-the-week-sufjan-stevens/

I'd never heard of this guy till I read this review in the Tribune

Andy Gill rarely gives 5 stars!! Found this thread last night and am listening to Illinoise. Have to say best thing I've heard in ages. Isn't it great when you discover new stuff??!!

legend I love hearing **** like this, do you have a last.fm profile?
I'm intrigued by what else you could be missing

Hackysack

Hah that's mad. I've literally just started listening to Sufjan today (Illinoise as well) and I have to say i'm mighty impressed.

I'm gonna listen to that a bit more now before I jump into any new stuff though.

S.M.B.

I've a very vivid memory of the first time I listened to Sufjan (Illinois). I remember giggling to myself with excitement as I got through the CD.

johnny_ultimate

I have a surprisingly vivid memory of my first Sufjan Stevens experience too. I was interrailing, sitting in a hostel in Budapest, and a friend turned on Illinois. I was instantly hooked, and spent the next week or two tracking down the CD for myself in Europe

Fanny Cradock

Just got an email today from Asthmatic Kitty Records saying that the digital download can be pre-ordered for a bargain $8 (that about €6 to you and I).


Here

Placid_Casual

The "EP" (i'd think of it as an album really) is amazingly good for something that's pretty much just a stop gap before the new album proper.

"I Walked" is a fantastic song too. Interesting to hear that he seems to be embracing more of an electronic sound and not just trying to recreate what he did with Illinois or Michigan.

ColmDawson

This is good news, but how is a forty-minute record an EP?

ShoulderChip

ColmDawson wrote: »

This is good news, but how is a forty-minute record an EP?

Cause sufjan said so

lordgoat

ColmDawson wrote: »

This is good news, but how is a forty-minute record an EP?

EP's can be any length really, they generally are shorter though.

In olden times albums were viewed as pieces of work rather than a collection of random songs. EP's are collections of random songs that don't fit in with the album the artist is working on imo.

Colm!

So, the new album leaked, it seems. I haven't heard the leak myself though, so no comment.

dan185

I haven't heard it either but it's absolutely awesome;)

"Vesuvius" is a fantastic song

SVG

You can stream it now at NPR.

SVG

Ok. I've just listened to the whole album. I like it!

The opener, Futile Devices, sounds most like the older stuff like Michigan- it's really lovely- after that the bleeps and bloops come in. It's still very recognisably Sufjan though. I Walked gets better with every listen. I also liked Get Real Get Right.

"Vesuvius" is a fantastic song

Vesuvius is definitely the standout for me. It feels the a lot of things have come together- there's bits in it which reminded me of that horrific jazz noodling on his early stuff (Satan's Saxaphone, anyone?) but mashed together here with everything else it completely works.

He even goes a bit T-Pain at one stage- I think it works...!?! I think I'll need some further listening to mull that one over.

mosstin

If you signed up to the Bandcamp early download offer, you should be enjoying the album legally right now.

johnny_ultimate

mosstin wrote: »

If you signed up to the Bandcamp early download offer, you should be enjoying the album legally right now.

Yup, downloading it right now from Bandcamp! Slow download though, and pretty big at 158 MBs! Good quality audio ftw.

Gonzovision

Enjoying it so far, some great tracks on it.

johnny_ultimate

Eighteen minutes into Impossible Soul at the moment, and seven left to go :pac: Pretty funky by Sufjan Stevens standards!

Overall, the album seems more similar to his pre-Michigan stuff - more electronic, although his more lavish Illinois stuff. Can't say it is as instantly grabbing as that album, but there seems to be some really nice songs on there. Need more than a listen to form an opinion!

ShoulderChip

how are people finding Age of the Adz now?

Fanny Cradock

Still undecided if it's a grower or wide of the mark.

iWeeze

Definitely say I Walked is one of the best tracks of 2010, in my invalid opinion..

Pacifico

I walked is a great track alright, not sure about the rest of it!

Fair play to him for trying something different though...

Kold

I walked and Get Real Get Right are amongst my tracks of the year.

ShoulderChip

he has just announced he will play primavera

sweet jesus let him tour europe.

U1D2C3

i know someone mentioned "all delighted people" (great album) in a thread a while back, and too be honest i was a bit lazy to scroll through all the comments to see if any one mentioned this album! sorry
I absolutely LOVE this album!!! Its my favourite one yet! its So different to his usual stuff! Its so creative and brilliantly arranged (every song!!), his voice is so different to usual and beautiful in every song! i love the backing vocals in "now that im older", Its like the music and singing you'd hear in old disney movies from the 30s, and "impossible soul" at 25 minutes, you dont even feel the time passing listening to this track! The experimentation he has done totally worked for him, and he actually is without a doubt a musical genius!
im sorry! i know im not much of a reviewer but its an amazing album, but a few of my friends ive talked to it about dont seem to like it! and they generally cant explain why!!! what does everyone here think???

Miguel_Sanchez

Threads merged.

ValJester

Age Of Adz is great, and espeically interesting when contrasted to what other artists who broke through in 2005 are doing now.