Net Music Review

The Age Of Adz - Sufjan Stevens

Making the follow up to 2005's Illinois was always going to be a difficult task for singer songwriter Sufjan Stevens, not only because of the critical acclaim it received but also in part due to his stated aim to release an album for each of the 50 US states. Even if he had released an album each year it would have taken a lifetimes dedication to complete the task, which doesn't leave you much time to do anything else. Instead Stevens went back to the drawing board, deconstructed his sound and you could say he did a Radiohead of sorts, replacing his signature banjo and string arrangements for harsh, sometimes industrial beats. While this may not sound overly appealing at first, the record is still undeniably a Stevens record and does feature some real moments of beauty.

It is quite fitting that the album cover features artwork from schizophrenic American artist Royal Robertson, the electronic beats and blips that dominate often give the feel of being detached from reality and are light years away from his previous, more folksy incarnation. At times you could be forgiven for thinking that he had teamed up with electronic pioneer Aphex Twin, the jagged sound that comes to the fore is reminiscent of much of the formers work. The whole album weighs in at a staggering 75 minutes, a third of this by one track alone which can be a little daunting, however it is a rewarding and stimulating body of work if taken as seriously as Sufjan Stevens obviously takes his music.

Opener "Futile Devices" immediately fools you into thinking that this is a standard Sujyan Stevens album, however this feeling is as short lived as the song as soon as the outstanding "Too Much" starts. Seemingly random electronic sounds give way to a bewildering array of beeps and bleeps that wouldn't seem out of place on Moloko's excellent debut Do You Like My Tight Sweater, which in turn give way to more tuneful measured ambient electronica. Some of the melodies created are similar to those created by Aphex Twin in his more tuneful moments. Title track "The Age Of Adz" kicks off with thundering orchestration before given way to swirling synth and strings over an understated beat that tips the scales at 8 minutes and is symbolic of some of the more indulgent moments on the album.

The middle section of the album feels less revolutionary that the start, comprising of "I Walked", "Now That I'm Older", "Get Real Get Right", "Bad Communication" and "Vesuvius" is more of an electronic updating of his sound. "Vesuvius" especially feels like the perfect blend between Stevens new found experimentalism and the older folksier sound. It's after this that things start to get a bit weirder again with "All For Myself" serving as a brief interlude before the up tempo "I Want To Be Well", faster than a lot of the content of The Age Of Adz that serves as a bit of a pick me up. "Impossible Soul" brings the album to a close, but those expecting a swift conclusion are n for a bit of a shock, it clocks up an impressive 25 minutes alone and is likely to sway your opinion of the album as a whole. It seems to be a tour de force through each and musical style displayed on the preceding ten tracks, some may call it self indulgent, some may say genius, I prefer to think of it as bursting at the seems with ideas and possibilities, more than most would manage on an entire album, more than some would manage in a career.

Some people may be put off by the drastic change in musical direction that The Age Of Adz takes from its predecessors, however, if given a chance this album contains some magical moments that will make your spine tingle. Whilst maybe not scaling quite the same vertigo inducing heights as Illinois, it still contains enough moments to be considered amongst the best offerings of 2010.