Javelin
For the last two decades, Sufjan Stevens’ music has taken on two distinct forms. On one end, you have the ornate, orchestral, and positively stuffed style that he’s excelled at since the conceptual fantasias of 2003’s star-making *Michigan*. On the other, there’s the sparse and close-to-the-bone narrative folk-pop songwriting that’s marked some of his most well-known singles and albums, first fully realized on the stark and revelatory *Seven Swans* from 2004. His 10th studio full-length, *Javelin*, represents the fullest and richest merging of those two approaches that Stevens has achieved to date. Even as it’s been billed as his first proper “songwriter’s album” since 2015’s autobiographical and devastating *Carrie & Lowell*, *Javelin* is a kaleidoscopic distillation of everything Stevens has achieved in his career so far, resulting in some of the most emotionally affecting and grandiose-sounding music he’s ever made. *Javelin* is Stevens’ first solo record of vocal-based music since 2020’s *The Ascension*, and it’s relatively straightforward compared to its predecessor’s complexity. Featuring contributions from vocalists and frequent collaborators like Nedelle Torrisi, adrienne maree brown, Hannah Cohen, and The National’s Bryce Dessner (who adds his guitar skills to the heart-bursting epic “Shit Talk”), the record certainly sounds like a full-group effort in opposition to the angsty isolation that streaked *The Ascension*. But at the heart of *Javelin* is Stevens’ vocals, the intimacy of which makes listeners feel as if they’re mere feet away from him. There’s callbacks to Stevens’ discography throughout, from the *Age of Adz*-esque digital dissolve that closes out “Genuflecting Ghost” to the rustic Flannery O’Connor evocations of “Everything That Rises,” recalling *Seven Swans*’ inspirational cues from the late fiction writer. Ultimately, though, *Javelin* finds Stevens emerging from the depressive cloud of *The Ascension* armed with pleas for peace and a distinct yearning to belong and be embraced—powerful messages delivered on high, from one of the 21st century’s most empathetic songwriters.
Sufjan’s masterful new album recalls his intimate singer-songwriter days. But it also draws on his entire catalog, his dazzling musicality, and his lifelong inquiries about love and devotion.
Javelin is Stevens’s first singer-songwriter album since 2015’s Carrie & Lowell, one of the most touching, emotive albums in recent memory. Here, Stevens goes back to what he does best and he crafts yet another masterpiece, distinct from his previous…
The prolific artist returns to “full singer-songwriter mode”, for a record of lush and intimate indie-folk
On 'Javelin,' Sufjan Stevens returns to singer/songwriter mode for magnificent, riveting and gorgeous songs of sacrifice. Read our review.
It takes a confident stride back into personal territory and certainly gives 2015 a run for its money.
Each song operates less like the smoothly thrown javelin of the title and more like dandelion clocks plucked by Stevens, who carefully rotates them to admire their complexity
On Javelin, Sufjan Stevens sees himself as a blight on a beautiful world. When loved, his pain is suspended and he transcends, but such mercy is resigned to his past.
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Sufja Stevens new album "Javelin" is out October 6th via Asthmatic Kitty. Read Zara Hedderman's review for Northern Transmissions.
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