DreamFeel

Sufjan Stevens returns with his first full length album in 5 years, 'The Age of Adz', on October 12.

Best known for baroque pop/indie folk classic 'Illinois', and it's sister 'Michigan', this album initially seems like an enormous (and enormously interesting) left-turn. However, it might not be so much of a shock to those familiar with his early electronic experiments, Enjoy Your Rabbit, and his extraordinary recent output, in particular the sprawling, foreboding 'You Are the Blood' released on the 'Dark Was the Night' compilation, and his confident orchestral/electronic suite 'The BQE' (Boston-Queens-Expressway).

In an age where it shows good taste to show constraint, Sufjan holds nothing back. This is an aural assault. Combining his signature knack for melody, song structure, his predilection for strings and wide instrumentation, with lots, and lots, of electronic sounds and audio manipulation, he has achieved something new. He has opened the window to a whole new field of influence, from Kraftwerk to Nancarrow to Aphex Twin; the breadth of styles, and tones on this record is unbelievable at times.

Also, paradoxically, this just might be Sufjan's most honest record yet; the heart-felt lyrics provide stark contrast to the grand music swelling everywhere. Nowhere, is this better typified than in the closing 25 minute song, "Impossible Soul". Surely taking lessons from his orchestral suite, this is a complex structure but still a very accessible and free flowing creation. Recurring lyrical motifs play over an ever-changing sea of sound and feeling. At one point, Stevens auto-tunes his vocals, possibly a playful jab at his own inability to express any truth, to rise above the fake and disposable. In the end, after a brief segment of harsh sounds, the noise all fades away, and we are left with Sufjan, and his banjo, alone.

"Girl, I want nothing less than pleasure."

I imagine those who are a fan of the more stripped-down, and straight froward 'Seven Swans' Sufjan might not be bowled over by this exhausting release, and indeed critical reaction is already highly polarized. One is tempted to make comparisons with Radiohead's Kid A, in delivering something radical the audience wasn't expecting, nor even wanted. This is an artis trying to create something new, and should be applauded.

Probably the best thing I've heard all year, and an album I can only see growing, and growing in stature. In the age of mp3, it's a brave move to make such a bold, singular and demanding statement. This is not music of of the 20th century. This is not an artist taking himself too seriously. This is not disposable.

Here's the penultimate track for your pleasure:

"I'm not fucking around."