Illinois

Wow ok, not what I was expecting - I've always thought this guy was a guitarist's guitarist (but one of those ones that fly under the radar cause they write pop songs, kinda like John Mayer or something) - but I was WRONG. This is "big concept" indie pop from the mid-2000s that we didn't ever need, kinda like arcade fire. This shit all follows the same pattern: it goes absolutely fucking nowhere, but takes forever to do it. Just sickly sweet, repetitive, modern easy listening tripe. I'm sure it gets called "ambitious" a lot, but there's no real ambition here; by the 10min mark you've heard everything it has to offer, but it just keeps on fucking going anyway and you start to gaslight yourself and assume there must be more to it that you're not "getting". But in reality it's just art school hipsters turning like 2 motifs into an hour and 15's worth of album, and then the wankers at outlets like Pitchfork act like it's groundbreaking because they are either a) fooled by the length, b) know pretentious art rock is fucking annoying and talk it up to piss normal people off, or c) both. I'm wondering where you'd be most likely to hear this: one of those hipster cafes where you have to sit on chairs they stole from a primary school? a tiny house owned by a girl who mostly wears a combo of overalls and doc martens? at a local theatre before a reinterpretation of Hamlet from Ophelia's perspective? 2/5.

This sounds like what a Wes Anderson movie would sound like if it were an album.

Honestly just the blandest thing I've ever heard. If a yogurt made a sound this would be it.

Songs as delicate as a gossamer spider’s web. But wait, spider silk is tougher than kevlar and stronger than steel. And so we come to the artless metaphor of my review. Sufjan’s finely crafted songs appear whispy and delicate, ephemeral things - but a closer listen reveals the rock solid songcraft, astonishing lyrics, transcendent beauty and strength.

One of the greatest albums ever made. Forget the lyrics and concept for a second, just the music alone is incredible. I love how you can hear each individual instrument coming together, but they become something greater than the some of their parts. \"They Are Night Zombies (...)\" is the perfect example of this. And the concept is super creative, and is explored in an amazing way. Absolutely flawless album, easily a top 5 album of all time for me.

LOVE LOVE LOVE. I love Sufjan and I love this album. From the epic joy of Chicago to the quiet tragedy of Casimir Pulaski Day to the eerie fun of They are Night Zombies!!, it's delightfully weird, wonderful, joyful, and diverse. I'm so glad he wrote an album for Illinois and I want to go back to Chicago listening to it.

crazy this dude still has 48 states to write an album for. also kinda pissed I was trying to study and spent 45 minutes reading about John Wayne Gacy instead

Love this album, one of my favourites from the last 20 years. Not a bad track, quite impressive considering its length.

This was a fantastic album in my opinion. It felt so familiar yet so new and refreshing. The lyrics were beautiful and the instrumentation was lovely. I totally get the hype now.

What a fantastic album. Even more amazing when you learn that Stevens played most of the instruments on the album. Loved the interludes between songs as well. The grandness of the compositions reminded me of Pet Sounds. Ambitious, but pulled off perfectly.

we are nothing, if not a mosaic of the places and spaces we inhabit; history is a documentation of the skin we shed on our journey to purpose, and the ground we walk on is filled with the dust of the bodies of previous generations now long decayed. Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois, a bombastic musical extravaganza about its titular state, is a beastly museum where the personal and historic collapse into, and inform each other, and are woven into a pointed take on the human condition. the second (and last) of Stevens’ purported 50 states project, Illinois soars because the titular area it highlights is merely a backdrop for more poignant tales on love and loss; innocence and regret; faith and death. Stevens’ songwriting is laser sharp, almost deliriously so, that reading through his poetry is to pierce your own heart and bleed out. you think of a song like “Casimir Pulaski Day” and feel the emotion of losing a loved one in death (and the grappling with faith that immediately follows it), but Sufjan’s strength here goes beyond just the words: his lush orchestral instrumentation is ethereal and moving — it evokes and complements the largeness of his stories, sure, but there’s a paradoxical intimacy in the compositions too. every sound is so perfectly placed, tied closely to the sound before and the sound after. you combine the sounds with the words, and what you have is a juggernaut: songs that sound like life itself, that trace the very idea of being, from birth to love to death and even beyond. this is such a human album — challenging and complex and difficult to digest, but also light and jovial and ultimately rewarding. it is a tribute to the spaces that make us who we are; and just like a literal geographical location, it is vast in scope and scattered, but also raging with passion and romance — a glass-stained cornucopia of details and people and laughter and tears and bodies and monuments and buildings that, at its very core, just sounds thankful to be alive.

B e a utiful

Christian rock for people who buy artisan maple syrup.

<3

Did it allay my suspicions that he's a poser whose experiments with fey grandeur via cutsie-pie rhymes and honeyed vocals don't liberate him from the thrall of easy listening? Yeah, pretty much. That stuff is sorta there but with less pretention, more whimsy and, most of all, melodies that are too full-bodied to ignore. In truth, I heard this as two stars but have bumped it to three as I could see that happening with repeat listens.

Nothing special at all

Lot of things to say here. First of all, so glad to see this included, Sufjan Stevens is one of the most incredible songwriters I’ve ever heard, and to this day I’d say that seeing him at Red Rocks remains my favorite concert I’ve attended. This was album two in the fifty state series (after Greetings from Michigan). Suffy, if you’re reading this, there’s still time and demand! Take us to Arizona or something next. Jokes aside, this album is an elaborate tapestry, woven with a level of care that most humans just don’t possess. It’s weird to talk about a musician like that, but Sufjan seems to have a reverence for minutiae and the ordinary, the kind of guy that literally couldn’t kill a fly because he’d see the fly as a provider for its family or lost in love or something. He devoted that compassionate meticulousness to making an ENTIRE album about Illinois, and if a sympathetic song about John Wayne Gacy isn’t an indicator of how rare this guy is, I don’t know what you’re looking for. The writing on here is top notch, and the production is so varied and impressive, lots of bright, clear percussion and unorthodox instruments. Sufjan was dialed the fuck in. Near the center of this album, back to back, lie two of the most powerful songs ever: “Chicago” and “Casimir Pulaski Day.” Powerful for different reasons: the former is a simple, euphoric song of transformation and moving on, moving forward. The latter is a devastating portrait of a childhood friend (maybe first love) taken too young by bone cancer. No idea if this is fiction or autobiographical, but I don’t care because either would blow my mind. Anytime I hear Casimir Pulaski Day, I play it a second time, and then I get distracted listening through all the other Sufjan songs I love. In other words, it took me a while to get through this album. I looked ahead and I’m afraid that Carrie and Lowell, his masterpiece from 2015 (and one of my absolute favorite albums ever), might not be on the list. Know that I would add it in a heartbeat over so many of the humdrum British rock wafers we’ve received, and go listen to that pronto. This one stands as tall as Seer’s Tower on its own. I expected to give it a 4.5 but we bumping that up today. I’m relishing a lot more than I had before on here. Favorite tracks: Casimir Pulaski Day, Chicago, Concerning the UFO Sighting, John Wayne Gacy Jr., The Seer’s Tower, The Predatory Wasp. Album art: Illinoise, spelled for the dummies. You got Al Capone, some UFOs, what the hell else do you need? It’s perfect for what it needed to accomplish. There’s a cool variant with a Chicago superhero flying around, I think that’s the vinyl I’ve got. 5/5

Yay, another one I've already listened to! Love this album very much. :)

Amazing

I was bored by this. Lots of people love sufjan and never really given him a chance, maybe this was the wrong place to start?

false

If you're going to make an album that's over an hour long, you need to be a lot more interesting and dynamic than this.

How can a song about John Wayne Gacy Jr be so beautiful? This was a mix between The Eels and other 90s surf pop, The Divine Comedy and The Penguin Orchestra. How can you not immediately love a song called “The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out To Get Us!” ?! The instrumentals were a bit too jazzy for me, but overall loved this album.

So just spitballin’ here, but an album about things from the state of Illinois does NOT sound like a recipe for musical goodness… I was also fascinated by the fact that this was voted the best album of 2005… No offense to Mr. Stevens, as a multi-instrumentalist – he is certainly very talented, but I would argue that “Illinois” being the best album of 2005, says more about the lack of quality music in 2005, as opposed to how exceptional this album is… If this came out in 1977, it’s not even in the Top 500 of that year… I would argue that 70%+ of the albums on the 1,001 list SHOULD be coming from the 60’s & 70’s… Artists created music for the love of their art and craft back then, as there really wasn’t a lot of money in music at the time… Once that changed in the late 70’s and early 80’s – everyone subsequently got in it for the money, and the corporate formulas took over… I’ve listened to a handful of self-made albums (i.e. where the artist plays every instrument for the most part…), and this was probably the best… Most of them just have a weird sound, like there wasn’t enough diversity in the playing, but this one sort of escaped that… Mr. Stevens is very talented, and definitely has a unique and original sound – so points for that, and for what he was trying to accomplish, the album is fairly well-done… My main complaint, is that after a while, all of the songs sorta just sound the same… Enjoyed the piano-based songs better than the banjo ones – but that’s just me, and never thought I’d hear a song about “John Wayne Gacy”, but that’s “Illinois” for you…

Not something I would normally listen to, and with good reason because it was rubbish. Only song that got anywhere near grabbing my attention was The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts, and even then it was not because it was actually any good but because it was the only track that didn’t sound identical to the others. Everything from the track names, to the songs, to the album itself is boring, too long, overly complicated, and trying too hard to be clever (haha Illinoise - do you get it?). This gets a 2 only because it’s not quite as terrible as some others on this list.

Geeze. Someone give this bastard a hug and a cup of strong black coffee. It's nothing but a stack of sad-sack, hipster, pseudo-deep lyrics that are utterly lacking in perspective or passion. The only saving grace is that the musicianship and production are absolutely stellar.

Never heard of this album or artist before. I'll be blunt. I hated every track. The creepy, breathy, wimpy vocals were the worst part. The rest of the music had nothing exciting or memorable. One song that said Lincoln is known as the great emancipator sounded like something a kid would write for extra credit in his high school history class. I'd be embarrassed to listen to this in front of anyone. Did not listen to the bonus CD tracks. I can guess what they sound like.

This sounds like someone has mashed together the Flaming Lips, Neil Young, Super Furry Animals, the Polyphonic Spree and the chorus of a musical. What comes out is unlike anything ever, and quite brilliant. Big, orchestral, great melodies, with unusual and interesting lyrics. All complimented and contested with Sufjan Stevens' quiet, breathy vocals. A triumph of song writing and recording. 5/5.

I know every nook and crannie of this record. It was something that was played heavily in the tour van when Those Transatlantics were traversing the Eastern U.S. 2004-2006. We used to play the song about Chicago when we pulled into town for a show. It's a record with a lot of emotional weight on its own. Add the nostalgia for those times and it feels almost inappropriate to listen now. Like I'm an outsider to my own memories. Musically, this is so interesting. And his voice is beautiful and sweet. Sad he only made it through a couple states in his quest to write a record for each in the Union. But I'm happy Michigan was one of them (it's good, but this is his peak in my opinion).

This is why i like 1001

Landmark in indie folk of the 21st century. Each track is beautifully arranged with carefully crafted instrumentation and introspective lyrics that draw from classical compositions and great poets. Subject matter is focused on Illinois topics and his own Christianity, making for a very personal experience. I could point something that stuck out to me on each track. For example, "Come on Feel the Illinoise" has a distinctive Chicago sound that reminds me of the musical. It's feels like a classical arrangement divided in movements, still cohesive, but flows naturally. In "John Wayne Gacy Jr", we see inspirations of his Christianity to humanize one of the most infamous serial killers in history, an individual who has a soul just like everyone else but grew up in circumstances that unfortunately led him down this past, teaching us that we can make the difference to prevent further massacres or redeem them as productive citizens. "Jacksonville" and "Decatur" remind me this is indeed a folk album with instruments like the banjo and a clear focus on the vocals. Oh and while I'm at it I love all the back vocals. You can tell there are different people on each track and it helps give each of them an identity. But then we get back to "Chicago" and the mood shifts from small time folk to big city feels (more like indie pop) with busy instruments and loud vocals, inviting the audience to sing along. And again it feels like a musical (Chicago) with the focus on the narrator given those momentary soliloquies about his personal experiences. Love the coda but I'm not sure it fit with the rest of the song since the rest of the song didn't feel particularly holy. This is followed by "Casimir Pulaski Day" which is another favorite of mine, for its simplicity and all-over-the-place story that reflects youthful grief and confusion. "The Man of Metropolis" is probably the next most complex song after "Chicago", fusing many different genres, especially rock. Love the distorted guitar sound at the end. "Prarie Fire" to me starts out sounding like it has a mystery theme turning into some holiday-themed Eastern European folk song between the chorus vocals and strange Christmas-like instruments in the latter half. Again, I could talk about the rest of the songs, but the point is that each shows Sufjan's creativity and masterful display of how to use the limited tools at his disposal to the full extent, playing with instruments and vocals in a million ways that doesn't sound experimental or repetitive, making each song stand out while still putting emphasis to his poetic lyrics. From start to finish, this album is a masterpiece to show indie musicians just what is possible with pure talent.

Was pretty gutted when this ended. Will always love this.

i listened to this album a lot in high school. sometimes i'm not feeling his style but today it was hitting me right

4 stars, would listen to again.

This is so f*cking precious I can't even. No more, please.

An excellent album, but the song titles are so long that by the time the song is finished, the full title still won't have scrolled all the way across the screen, Or, the song is 16 seconds long so even if the title is shorter you can't see the whole thing, Or, the song is so long that the 35-word title can scroll all the way through the screen 10 times before the song ends, Or...

Such a great album. I listened to this so many times in high school and college. It holds up so well.

Ich bin heute in Illinois in Chicago. Da war ich besonders gespannt, welcher Soundtrack von einem mir unbekannten Sufjan Stevens geboten wird. Nach den ersten Tönen merkt man, dass es jetzt gehobene Kost mit wunderschönen Melodien, Gesängen, Chöre und allen möglichen Instrumente gibt. Harmonisch, kein Ton zuviel, kein Ton zu wenig. Zum Weinen schön. John Wayne ein berühmter Westernheld, wird hier sensibel und zärtlich besungen. Von wegen Illinoise, hier stimmt das Zusammenspiel, auch der Dialog zwischen Blechbläser, Banjo und Geigen, selbst die Chören passen auch unangemeldet. Und Chicago? Was geht ab? Meine Frage stellt sich: Gibt es eine bessere Hymne? Ich verneige mich vor Sufjan Stevens und bedanke mich für die beste Hymne, die je über Chicago geschrieben wurde. Natürlich kenne ich kaum Hymnen über Chicago. Aber was ich heute gehört habe reicht. Alles andere kann jetzt nur verlieren.

Certified Sufjan classic

I don't know why, but I had the mistaken impression that Sufjan Stevens put out "romantic" bubble gum pap. I was really wrong. This is really good. Very very interesting song titles (e.g., "The Black Hawk War, or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning, or, We Apologize for the Inconvenience but You're Going to Have to Leave Now, or, 'I Have Fought the Big Knives and Will Continue to Fight Them Until They Are Off Our Lands!'") There's a lot of complicated things going on here. And a significant amount of creepiness. Oddly and inexplicably, I am experiencing a sense of dread. This is not background music. It requires that you devote an hour and 14 minutes to paying attention. Is it a symphony? The Sergeant Pepper of the 2000s? Although I don't particularly LOVE every song, I enjoyed the listening experience very much. There's just so much going on (did I already say that?). Vocals (lead and background), instrumentation, everything together... very nice. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ __________________________________ 🎧 LPs reviewed: 40 🎧 LPs left to review: 961 🎧 LPs I found great/relevant enough to be mandatory listens (5): 10 🎧 LPs I *might* include in my own list (4): 14 🎧 LPs I will certainly *not* include in mine (1-2): 10

Fand ich völlig gile!

Muy bueno, me ha encantado

Prachtig album.

Really a nice surprise for me. Recent (younger than me) music that’s right up my alley.

De orkestrale composities, en de vrolijke noten in dit album hebben mij positief verrast! De korte instrumentale intermezzo's zorgen voor leuke afwisseling. Zeker een album om nog eens opnieuw te beluisteren

Even if he never finished the other states in this Grand and ambitious project, this is a beautiful loveletter to the time and place.

Great album! Can't believe I hadn't heard it earlier.

One of my favorite albums that helped get me through a lot of my emo highschool days. I still listen to it every so often when I am in the right mood. Fave Track - Decatur (or something something step mom)

One of my favorite albums. Love it!

Love this album, specifically Chicago, feel the illinoise!, and Casimir Pulaski day. The experimental nature and samples feel intimately eccentric, like reading a journal.

love

I've listened to this album before once or twice maybe, and it never really grabbed me, but paying more attention to it this time around and it's _wonderful_. Gorgeous music, poignant lyrics, amazing stuff. Fave track - "Chicago", although I can imagine that might change with a few more listens...

Super, complexe instrumentatie, van typisch singer songwriter tot hard

Absolutely a perfect example of the Genre. Many songs I've heard before, but have never listened through the album completely. Definitely worth multiple listens.

The greatest Sufjan album ever. I was a jr. in high school when this album came out and it was like nothing i'd ever heard.

There's something special there, despite the overuse of children's choir.

already loved it

AMAZING. One of my favourite albums.

Classic emo/indie rock

Still great after all these years

Love love love

I really like this album. It is a soothing listen even with some heavy concepts.

👍

First time hearing this album. Very unique and hard to categorize. Kind of have to be in the mood to listen to it, but then it really works. Definitely better as an end-to-end album that something you'd shuffle into your playlist. Don't really need a song detailing the life and times of John Wayne Gacy popping up just any random time.

a few good tunes and lots of meandering, like his other work [edit: I spent a bit more time with this than usual over a weekend, and found it to be more complex and complete than I previously understood. Bumped up a point for quality. Jacksonville and Chicago are legit bangers, and some of the more oddly-titled ones are good fun. Could still lose about 15 mins]

It’s Sufjan Stevens being some top tier Sufjan

I love concept albums and while I'm not an expert on Illinois history, I know enough to appreciate and recognize many of the references and homages. The range of music fits together seamlessly using certain interludes and intermissions between certain tracks that get the listener ready for a shift in tone and style. Listening to the first track, I was worried it was going to be a basic pop/folk album. I was anticipating a 2. Not that that style would be bad for an album, I just usually expect those albums don't push the boundaries very much. By the time I got into the second track I knew I was completely wrong and was then just along for the ride, not knowing what to expect. Things never really get out of hand in this album and while there is a difference in style among several tracks, there's a consistent sound. Overall, the biggest downfall to this record is that it's too long. That's significant considering it's not actually an overwhelmingly long album when looking at the runtime. It sits on the longer side of the spectrum at 1hr and 14 mins but there are longer albums. This is an album you have to dedicate that full hour and 14 minutes for. Listening in episodes would be like stopping a movie every 15 minutes or so and then coming back to it later. It's definitely somewhere between a 4.0 and a 4.5. It's lack of replay value hurts the score just a little bit but it's definitely an ambitious and important homage to a state and country's history.

This album did not sound at all like I was expecting based on the cover art.

A really fun one. It's totally all over the place lyrically, but sonically it really makes the most of using a similar sound for much of it. The lyrics are really beautiful and silly at times which keeps it very interesting as well. 7/10

Ce pâle clone de Cat Stevens nous offre un album long comme le sexe nouvellement dressé de Muddy Waters (voir review sur Hard Again), cela ne prend malheureusement pas avec moi.

OK, this is going to sound really bad. But I thought Sufjan Stevens was the lead singer from System Of A Down. Oops. Definitely not. Yeah, so this isn't bad. But it is a bit.... different. It's a bit noodle-y in places. Experimental music has (to me) sometimes the feel of pretentiousness. "Look, I can put together anything and package it and people will buy it." I get the point of the concept album, and maybe if I was from the midwest I could appreciate it more. As it is, it just didn't hit me like I was expecting. Not something I will revisit.

Wow this was well confusing. I've never known how I feel about Sufjan Stevens tbh, and this confirmed this .. again. I really loved some and utterly hated others. Strange place to!

Not my thing. I enjoyed some of the musical compositions but the lyrics felt...juvenile? A second album in a row that I'm having a hard time connecting with. While I try not to get.too critical about others' opinions on something as subjective as music, reading some of the critiques (both professional and not) the first thing that came to mind was pretentious hipster music. I think I'm actually more frustrated with reviews of the album than the album itself.

I remember when people were telling me about how Carrie and Lowell was one of the most beautiful albums of all time. And on this album about his mom he talks about jerking off. And that’s when I decided that the soft ass album was not for me. Sufjan Stevens is the absolute worse voice to tell me an in depth history of Illinois because I love the ideas here! I love that the song about genociding the natives is this ironic triumphant symphony. I love a song about the white city at the world’s fair, John Wayne Gacy, all sorts of great subject matter here. BUT! BUT!!! We gotta make it so twee and ironic. Teehee, all the titles are like 30 words long! Isn’t that cute? Listen to these woodwinds! My voice is breathy and annoying. It’s one of THE most frustrating albums I’ve ever listened to because there are parts I really like! All let down by ol’ captain asthmatic’s gasps for air. FUCK. Only a weird fucking Christian artist could be like teehee I’m just like John Wayne Gacy! I’ve done some bad things! Secrets under my floor boards! Like my man, nah, you’re good. Just because you stole a Twix bar once doesn’t mean you’re a serial killer. If I wanted sad vaguely Christian folky indie I have the Mountain Goats for that tyvm. And fuck, they also have an album about Illinois.

Interesting album… I would describe this as folk more than alternative. Although I say that more because of the vocal stylings. Musical arrangements for to Intricate and layered, The guy knows how to put a song together! At the end of the album, though, not my cup of tea.

Yeah, maybe on a different day this could’ve gotten 3 stars. Just could not vibe with it.

Huh not sure what to say about this one. the fact i can't remember a single song after it's finished is not a good sign.

A bit boring

I remember when this came out and every hipster was spewing in his/her/their pants. This album marks the beginning of the pussification of the USA. Can't give it a 1, since there's some good orchestral moments.

This is so fsking precious I can't even. No more, please.

No

Holy fuck he must hate Illinois

This is bad, just unashamedly bad. It's boring, redundant, and self indulgent crap I could not finish this mess

Ég á ofboðslega erfitt með Sufjan Stevens - þykir stöffið hans meira og minna allt tilgerðarlegt drasl. Það á meðal annars við um þessa plötu.

Brrr

YES! This one is special and will be a 5. It's one of a kind, really. John Wayne Gacy, Jr. is a favorite, as is Jacksonville. Too many favorites, Chicago, Casimir Pulaski Day. Interesting music and cool harmonies throughout the album. I love it!

A collage of vibrant vignettes that swept me away. I honestly was prepared to be this album's biggest hater but it completely turned me on my head. Excellent.

Some of these song titles are the wildest I've ever seen. On first listen, I really liked Feel The Illinois, Jacksonville, Chicago, Casimir Pulaski Day, Predatory Wasp, and Tallest Man. This version of Chicago sounds different from the one I've listened to in the past but I'm into the added strings and chorus towards the end. Still probably my favorite song on the album. I read in the global reviews that this felt like listening to a Wes Anderson movie and I've never read a truer statement. This was an album that took a few listens to fully digest but I enjoyed the music quite a bit. There are deep-rooted themes, intricate song structures, and a variety of different styles of music here. Even with juggling all of that, the result is a beautifully produced album. I feel like this deserves a 5. I plan on coming back to this one for sure despite it being pretty lengthy.

It was only a matter of time before we met again. What a fantastic album with some of the longest song titles known to man. I don't have the energy or focus to break this down track by track. All I can really say is that there are no misses here. I feel like the quirkiness could be offputting to the uninitiated, but I challenge anyone to give this 3 listens across a week and not grow in love with it. The tracks are individually beautiful and even better than the sum of their parts when composed into this album. Hard to call them standouts, but some of my favorites include: Come On! Feel the Illinoise! -- a great standalone mini opera of sorts. John Wayne Gacy, Jr. -- a sobering ode to one of the most disturbing serial killers in memory. Decatur... -- a wonderful balance of plucked banjo, accordion, and smooth guitar lines. Honestly I'm not sure why I'm trying here.. there are none that I don't love. This is an unquestionable 5/5

EXCELLENT

Kenne ich. Ich weiß nicht wie oft ich dieses Album bereits gehört habe. Aber es gehört zu meinen liebsten. Casimir Pulaski Day ist zudem eines meiner absoluten Lieblingslieder. Egal wie oft ich es höre, werde ich emotional. Es ist so traurig, so menschlich.

The GOAT babeeeee

Absolutely loved this music. Different sound. Really interesting melodies/harmonies. Some songs interesting rythems (spelling?). Interesting lyrics.

IN THE TOWER ABOVE THE EARTH

Being that my hometown is a suburb of Chicago, I’m thrilled to have an opportunity to sit down and listen to this album in full. Dunno why I haven’t yet, just one of those projects I’ve always put off. Love what I’ve heard off of “Carrie and Lovell,” adore his collabs with Angelo de Augustine, and excited to dive into this. Album cover is goofy as hell— feels like an illustration on a board in a small town museum, in a great way. Very hokey and likable. Immediately enamored with the hilariously specific and long winded song titles too. 1. Kinda want the tempo to slow down a couple of clicks? Doesn’t feel as patient as an opener should be. Okok wait the flute is incredible, and his voice is a fresh witchhazel wipe to a flushed face. Love that the first song is about a UFO sighting, makes this project feel campy and sincere and earnest and silly and good. “3 stars” like those of a night sky, but also like a rating— funny. Great opener. 2. My singing monsters type intro? Clarinet (oboe?) and flute go dummy, though, love the orchestral notes throughout these first couple of songs, feels really ambitious These trumpets are making my home state feel kinda epic! We’re on the edge of theater-core here, and it would be schlocky if it wasn’t perfectly done— since it is, it’s just delightfully camp and catchy to boot. Woulda been cheesey if it were the album intro, but for some reason works great as the second song. 3. God his voice is just pleasing dude, just pleasant!! Kinda no idea what these lyrics are about but they sound good. Very jaunty, nice upbeat tempo and the 5 sounds great. Wish more indie stuff was in 5, it just feels perfectly quirky and fun. Worried 6 minutes would be too long, but the song is super patient and layers really nicely. Just a good sounding song!! 4. Ugh dude a song named after and about a serial killer should not be this pretty lmao WOW! Falsetto is so vulnerable and beautiful over gently diligent guitar and stumbling piano, subtle backup vocals are great, and goodness the lyrics are spellbinding— that last line, “under the floorboards,” gives Poe a worthy spiritual successor. I’m immensely impressed by the mic and mix quality, Stevens’s voice is so close, so intimate— I can hear the mouth working and soft breath texture and it is very forward in the mix but the instrumentation is still so lush! I think they panned all the instrumentation either slightly left or right and kept the vocals front and center, and it allows everything to operate as a whole while still having space for breathe. Great stuff. 5. The banjo is hokey for two seconds, and then it just submerged itself into the mix of Ladybug Transistor trumpets and beautiful strings and some lovely electric guitar noodling, that just kinda sounds like someone improvised one long solo over the song! It’s all so organic and folksy in the best way. Drums are to the left, shakers are to the right, cool balance, I have mo idea what his lyrics are saying ahaon, but I just like how he says “Andrew Jackson.” There hasn’t been a bad outro so far too, and this is no exception: strings seem reticent to end, and mourn the song’s passing before finally growing quiet. Love 6. Ah okay that strings outro I was talking about was its own song— love the song title, love the moment, feels very natural and I wouldn’t skip it. This and track 8 are really nice touches, makes the album feel really cohesive and fun 7. Sequencing is great so far too, banjo’s introduction last song leads into what is proper Americana folk, accordion and all. Delightful lyrics again, feels like a childhood roadtrip. Word to Abe. Such great balance of treble and bass on all of these songs— because Stevens has a generally breathy and trebly voice, the hurdy gurdy (or maybe it’s just low notes on an accordion imitating the drone?) give the lead vocals and their accompanying backups a solid foundation from which to roam. I like the clapping at the end, for some reason it feels like a part of the song in a way a lot of clapping doesn’t. 8. Lmao no wonder the clapping sounded like a song, it was one! Cute, and I wouldn’t skip it— fits like a glove 9. The central rhythm and melody of the vocals is super catchy, but I do think the instrumentation takes a bit of a backseat this song. I do like the vibes (word to the vibraphone too lol), but I’ve just been so pleased with how intimate and ornate the songs have sounded, this feels a little composed. It’s still super catchy, though, and feels really bombastic and certainly still carries emotional heft. The trumpets still continue to be essential to the DNA of the song. Vocals could stand to be like 2 dbs louder, and could do without the sleigh bells. I dunno, this song is the weakest on the album so far imo and it’s a strong strong 7/10, so. Hrm maybe 8/10, cos the lyrics feel really personal and human and good. 10. Side note, my high school marching band played in the Pulaski Day parade, it’s like a Chicago thing because the Polish community is big and also the parade in Ferris Buhler’s Day Off and oooo he’s talking about cancer oopsy. Okok love the dueling acoustic guitar and banjo, the former is space heater warm and the latter is your favorite scratchy wool blanket warm and Stevens’ voice is like Swiss Miss hot cocoa made with 2% milk warm. Absolutely adore the lyrics in this, doesn’t sacrifice meter or rhyme to tell a great human story. Super impressive. Just a beautiful song good God. Outro with the “dadadaas” layered with trumpet and the guitar and banjo and subtle backdrops of synth and flute it’s all so textured and warm and good!!! 11 Holy intro Batman omg I could listen to those twinkly plink cascades of guitar piano and vibes and percussion all fucking day dude, shit is musical ASMR— everything is panned super far out to the right or left except the trumpet and piano are kept center and it’s incredibly satisfying 12 trashy guitar tone bookends lovely indie goodness, really like how the edge being draped in satin backup vocals and cute glockenspiel accents. Just a nice track, though my brain doesn’t like how he says “man of steel” as much as how he says other things (e.g. “Andrew Jackson” from earlier) and that is kind of the heart of this song. Not a standout, and probably a touch too long. Still don’t think I’d skip it on future listens though. 13 Gos I love vibes dude they sound so good, wish they were used more often. Love the old timey synth and oboe, crazy combo. This kinda tries to do that layering from the 11th track, but I think there might be a little too much here, the vocals totally get lost in the sauce and the drums and oboe are a bit too forward in the mix. Sleigh bells work better here to give some whimsicality, just kinda doesn’t all come together as cohesively as most tracks here. 14 cool little interlude, little bit of a sudden transition into the next track but I’ll allow it 15 loooove the plot flute intro. Feels like they clocked that the flute is just a great pairing with Stevens, and I agree. Penguin Cafe Orchestra feels like another point of reference for this song with all the orchestral and choral elements! Irked I didn’t connect that sooner, instrumentals are very “Sings of Life.” Vocals are still so special though, love Stevens’s performance in this. Love the repeated image of the titular “wasp.” Drone outro sounds crazy cool, but kinda sudden transition here too— first questions raised about the sequencing 16 kinda by the numbers guitar riff, which feels odd this far into such an intricate album so far. Still built well, got me tapping my foot. Not super convinced by the backup vocalists’ hook. Funny song title, just wish the tone shift to more tension was used more substantively, feels kinda directionless 17 Strings plus bits of vibes interlude, catchy enough but not a standout. Transitions into the next song well though. 18 Julianna Barwick type vocals cloak this interlude in ethereality, i think it’s beautiful and really cool. Just odd to have two interludes back to back like this, but fun! But wish the first was as meaty as the second 19 Funny pun in the song title justifies by cool lyrics about looking down from the top of the Sear’s Tower. Dunno if this was written before the name change, but true Chicagoans will never call that magnificent temple the W***** Tower! And I’m definitely one of those lol uuuh good song but long album, starting to feel it on a slower song like this. Who’s Emmanuel? First truly forgettable song on this album, if it weren’t for the song title and cool vocals over from at the very end 20 Now here’s some proper Broadway shit. Them claps are crisp! Or is it more Wes Anderson movie? Love the play with time, alternating 5/8-6/8 sounds great, especially with such intricate piano and oboe lines. Cymbals are panned so far back and forth, weird but fun. Delightful listen, really justifies its length and reinvigorates my ears just as I was flagging, def a standout 21 very jazz trumpet for sure, so much texture in each tracked trumpet. Cool interlude 22 we made it! Very cool Steve Reich sorta intro, “Cournerpoint”-esque pulses complete with mallet percussion— had to be an inspiration. In the context of this album’s intricate webs of rhythm, though, such unison is almost unsettlingly whole, and when the pulses start to splinter and separate I’m almost believed to be within entropy again. This is just an absolutely stupendous closer to an absolutely stupendous album. Piano being the last note after the vibes get a little solo sounds like Stevens gives a little thank you to Reich— but also the beauty of Illinois as a state. Just great.

Picture the classic Mothers of Invention albums such as “Absolutely Free” or “We’re Only In It for the Money” or maybe even “Apostrophe.” Now adjust it to something more serious, more epic, and more poetic. That’s what this album is like, maybe. This surely isn’t for everyone but it displays tremendous talent. If you’re prone to skip, at least slow down and take in “Casimir Pulaski Day,” which is not very much about Casimir Pulaski Day.

I can feel the Illinoise! And it is still resonating in my soul after listening to it for the first time in years. There are few artists and albums that immediately feel like they are both engaging and beyond you at the same time. Stevens' songs are compelling, moving, and will challenge your thinking, philosophy, and faith. And he does this with gentleness and big symphonic intimacy that allows you to accept the challenge in a way that is more contemplative than off-putting. There is no sermon, but there is an altar call of sorts... the kind that compels you to respond!

Day 25 - I am super excited that this album came up today - It was a favorite of mine back in the early 2010s. I had drifted away from newer music but a fellow teacher gave me one of the tracks on a mix cd. I love(d) the sound. It is joyful. Maybe this is just due to reminiscing but the album gets a 5/5 today #musicsky #albumsky #nowplaying #odetojoy

"Chicago" is one of my favorite songs, but I actually never got around to listening to this whole album until now. People give a lot of side-eye to 00s indie nowadays, and I get it - I lived through it, it was a goofy-ass time. But man, if this came out today I think people would still love it. I love the music and lyrics, I love the theme, and I love that it feels like there's so much more to discover on repeat listens. So though this is very midwestern millennial of me, I'm giving it a 5. :)

Fantastic. Amazing. Wow.