Send "Sufjan Stevens " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Sputnikmusic |
 Ever since Sufjan Stevens announced his intentions to record an album for all 50 U.S. states, not even the most cynical could question his musical ambition. Though the project was more or less discontinued after Michigan and Illinois, to even think about embarking on such a monumental task seems absurd to the common man, let alone going two chapters into it (with huge critical-acclaim at that). The fact that this sprawling hour-long EP comes barely a year after he shocked fans with a question that seemed to indicate he'd begun his free-fall into some sort of inescapable existential crisis ("What's the point of a song?") is truly another testament to his character. This is a man not afraid to go completely balls out for his craft. Think about it; the very same man who had become disillusioned with the art form itself has now unleashed upon us a track as massive, indulgent and spectacular as "All Delighted People" (two versions of it, nonetheless). It's not just his mood that's changed either; in terms of songwriting, songs like the title track, the classic rock version of it, and the huge 17-minute closer "Djohariah" are staggering leaps forward in his musical palette (guitar solos in Sufjan Stevens songs still seem like an oddly foreign concept) and show a boldness he seems to have picked up on his way back up from the doom and gloom. "From The Mouth of Gabriel" jumps right ahead of the pack as perhaps one of the best songs he's ever written, showcasing emotiveness in his voice that goes beyond the hushed tone of tracks like "Romulus" and "John Wayne Gacy Jr". It feels like a comeback story. What have we had from Stevens since 2006’s Illinoise? A Christmas album, b-sides, re-releases, and a mixed-medium piece dedicated to a highway that, all things considered, wasn’t very interesting to the average man. Not great output from a guy who at one point seriously intended to write an entire orchestral indie-pop album about Wyoming. I’ve been to Wyoming and it’s boring as ***. And then, completely unannounced, this: huge track lengths, backing choirs, electric guitars, Sufjan’s usually hushed tone going far beyond that, electronic bleeps and bloops, cryptic, Simon & Garfunkel referencing lyrics, and a self-proclaimed “17-minute guitar-jam-for-single-mothers” closer that’s 10-minutes of chanting and guitar/electronic wankery that ultimately makes way for an entirely pleasant and enjoyable 7-minutes of typically Sufjan folk (although after this, ‘typical’ has become a hard word to apply to this artist)....full text |
| Stereogum |
| It’s been a while. Today Sufjan Stevens released a new, eight-song EP, titled All Delighted People, on Bandcamp. You can stream the tracks for free below, or download the whole thing for $5. According to Asthmatic Kitty, the album will be on other digital retail sites on August 23, and will be out in physical form later on. The title track was the centerpiece of Stevens’s fall 2009 tour — it’s the lengthy epic that gently references Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound Of Silence.” Listen: All Delighted People EP is out now via Bandcamp. The tracklist: 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”...full text |
| Iguessimfloating |
| The man is a mystery.. and we love it! Sufjan Stevens is caught somewhere between indie legend and a celestial creature armed with a banjo instead of a harp. Although he’ll never sell-out Madison Square Garden like some of his contemporaries (not his kinda shtick anyways), everything he touches turns to gold and his actions in between albums are always an enigma. That being said, I hope I never learn how to decode what it is Sufjan Stevens does because being surprised with his brand new EP All Delighted People gives a whole new meaning to “TGIF”! The EP is $5 and you can download it here! I’d describe how it sounds but it would be a waste of prose, you know what you’re getting into. I will say this though, look out for “Djohariah” a 17-minute opus. Thanks to my pal Matt from YANP for the heads up!...full text |
Sufjan Stevens lyrics
