The New Music

Sufjan Stevens is finally back and this time with an unexpected, 60-minute EP entitled All Delighted People. On August 20th the EP was released digitally by Asthmatic Kitty Records for a modest price of $5 and is also streamed online on Bandcamp. It was released, as stated on the website, as a “homage to the apocalypse existential ennui, and Paul Simon’s Sounds of Silence.”

All Delighted People revolves around two versions of the album-titled track, both extremely distinguished from one another. The first is the original version, which opens the album. The solo artists couldn’t have written a more distinctive “Sufjan Steven’s” song. In its 11 minutes, it’s clear that the track is instrumentally rich. The songs is charged with strings, trumpets, dreamy vocals and even choral sections similar to Stevens hit Chicago. I’m sure after listening there are “many delighted people raising their hand”. The second version, referred to as the classic rock version, sounds less like the indie folk ballads we are generally accustomed to hearing from Stevens. With the banjo, electric guitar solos, and electronica influences, the song is very upbeat.

The EP carries on with tracks like The Owl and the Tanager, Enchanting Ghost and Heirloom, none of which are particularly standout tracks. To redeem this however is Djohariah, which finishes All Delighted People on an exceptional note. A whopping 17-minute long track, it is the highlight of the EP. A doppelgänger to the song Sister off of Seven Swans, it is as Asthmatic Kitty’s website proclaims, “a guitar jam-for-single mothers.” It still amazes me that in spite of the length, Djohariah only progresses into a more beautiful song as time goes on.

Despite the vast differences in these tracks, surely a Sufjan Stevens fan would not find this surprising. Essentially every album in his extensive discography has varied greatly in styles, ranging from folk, to electronic, to symphonic, to Christmas carols. Consequently, one should expect his latest effort to be no different.

What is surprising, however, is the absence of a clear theme throughout the EP. Not that this detracts from the quality of the songs, but a defined characteristic of Stevens’ previous work is that they have coherent concepts, often spiritual, which All Delighted People seemingly lacks. This could potentially be why, despite its eight track and 60-minute long length, the album was released as an EP rather than an LP, but coming from an artist with such musical ambition, it seems unlikely. After all, we are talking about a man who set to embark on the “Fifty States Project”.

Perhaps at the ripe age of 35 he has simply lost his zeal. It seems possible when you consider that the only material released since 2005’s wildly acclaimed Illinois is a Christmas album, a few re-releases and some b-sides. It seems even more plausible after the singer’s statement last year, “What is the point of making music anymore?” Regardless, I refuse to jump the gun, especially when it comes to the musical Shaman that is Sufjan Stevens. Still, whether or not he really is back as a force to be reckoned with, I haven’t yet decided. The free single I Walked, which was released mere days after All Delighted People, leads me to believe he has it in him, but only time will tell with the release of the full length The Age Of Adz on October 12th.