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Sufjan StevensAlbums ReviewedMichigan (2003)Seven Swans (2004) Illinois (2005) Michigan(2003)According to the biography on his website, Stevens was found in a milk crate on the doorstep of his parents' house in Detroit in 1975, wrapped in cellophane and tagged on the wrist with the mysterious note "I love you." However, his real life story is almost as interesting - born into a family of hippies, he was named in the Subud faith, before rebelling in reverse by becoming a Christian. While he's more blatantly Christian in some of his lyrics than a lot of mainstream CCM artists (and also honest and questioning of it), he's not a Christian artist per se, as my original Seven Swans review overstated. He's operating in a secular context, yet his Christian lifestyle does inform his worldview and songs, such as the title 'Oh God, Where Are You Now? (In Lake St. Claire? Dearborn Heights? Hamtramck?)'; long titles are also a Sufjan trademark. He's also a skilled multi-instrumentalist, playing almost every instrument on the album, including unconventional ones like glockenspiels and recorders. The first in a series of fifty proposed albums chronicling every state of America, and Stevens' third album overall, Michigan covers Sufjan's native state. Accordingly, it's full of malaise and blue collar strugglers, although songs like 'Vito's Ordination Song' and 'Oh Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head (Restore! Rebuild! Reconsider!) are tinged with some hope. While his two subsequent albums are more confident and accomplished than this, Michigan does set out the basis of Stevens' basic styles; generally either acoustic ballads, delivered with banjo or piano accompaniment, or overblown yet charming epics that channel touches of jazz and progressive rock. This simplification is hardly fair to Stevens, since this album is more eclectic than that description would suggest, and it's inevitable that his musical palette will change for different geographic states. For Michigan, he's got the acoustic ballads down pat, and it's songs like 'Romulus', 'The Upper Peninsula' and 'For the Widows in Paradise (For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti)' that are the standouts, infused with spirituality and sympathy for the downtrodden in his state. Despite some impressive songs and some obvious signs of talent, this album does drag in some places and it could stand some trimming - if you're new to Stevens I'd suggest jumping to one of the subsequent albums first and coming back to this later. 
 Seven Swans(2004)Seven Swans was released in the middle of a hectic schedule, in between teaching knitting to the blind and working in educational publishing. Apparently it is a collection of outtakes, which is somewhat difficult to believe given its quality. It actually outperforms its parent album, as it cuts out the instrumentals and overblown parts that were the least effective aspects of Michigan, and concentrates on low key ballads. If this sounds like mundane territory, don't worry; Stevens' rich imagery, gentle vocals and twee yet off-kilter arrangements set him apart from a long list of mediocre singer-songwriters. Stevens is dealing in more obviously Christian subject matter here, like the "he is the Lord" climax to the title track and the title 'All of the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands'. Seven Swans isn't perfect - some of the album is a little samey with the low key acoustic sound, while other songs like 'Sister', which starts off like a rock epic before petering into a pretty song, overstretch the mark, but overall it's a delight, and Sufjan's presence is constantly charming. Opening track 'All of the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands' is gorgeous, with a gently building arrangement that gradually adds piano, rhythmic ethereal backing vocals, and percussion to the sparkling banjo that anchors the song. Some of the other instrumentation used is equally offbeat - a Theremin powers the later phases of 'In The Devil's Territory', while wheezy organs and choirs are also used to great effect - Stevens is a sensitive arranger and no matter how quirky his instrumentation is on paper, it never overpowers the songs. 'That Dress Looks Nice On You' is catchy in its low key arrangement, while the title track and 'The Transfiguration' bring the record to a triumphant conclusion. It's terrific that Seven Swans has found a wider audience in spite of some blatantly Christian themes - Sufjan Stevens is simultaneously charmingly eccentric and extremely talented, and one of the most fascinating figures currently operating in popular music.
Illinois(2005)After the excellent sideline of Seven Swans, Sufjan moved one state south of Michigan to Illinois. While the two albums are similar is style, this time around it's a lot more confident, and the more overblown pieces come alive in a way that their counterparts on Michigan never did. There's no let up in the quality of the introspective folk material either, and this album is more potent than its predecessor to such a degree that in hindsight it makes Michigan look like merely a dry run for this. Stylistically, it covers similar ground to Michigan, although it's infused with touches of Chicago jazz (and presumably other aspects of Illinois musical heritage as well), giving the state its own sense of musical identity, but still obviously the product of Sufjan Stevens. The album's 22 tracks are somewhat misleading, as when you get down to it there are only 13 songs, and the remaining tracks are either extended introductions, outros ('Let's Hear That String Part Again, Because I Don't Think They Heard It All The Way Out In Bushnell') or short instrumentals. Despite a seventy five minute running time there's little that needs cutting, only tailing off right at the end with a couple of experimental instrumentals, but after seventy minutes of unmitigated entertainment it's difficult to begrudge them. Among the introspective material, highlights include the charming piano opener 'Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois', the paean to one of Illinois' most notorious citizen's 'John Wayne Gacy' (with the perceptive line "in my best behavior I am really just like him/Look beneath the floorboards for the secrets I have hid") and the honest 'Casimir Pulaski Day', which throws around questions of inter-connected suffering, spirituality and sexuality, raising more questions than it answers. 'Decatur' pulls out a myriad of amusing rhymes (emancipator, alligator, debater, and aviator) and the peppy, breezy 'Jacksonville', which would be a hit single in a less image conscious world. Among the epics, 'They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhh!' is the standout, a string laden groove, while 'The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Heart' alternates between abrasive guitar and soothing balladry. Stevens is reaching a level of popularity where you can actually find his albums in mainstream stores in New Zealand, and this album's been pretty much unanimously praised already, so I'm merely adding my voice to the chorus; if you're not turned off by Sufjan's preciousness and long song titles, this is some terrific and sensitive song-writing topped off by some amazingly creative arrangements.
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Written 2001-2009, Graham Fyfe
