Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz (Review)

Where to start…

Macro­:

Contextualizing Sufjan Stevens in the broader framework of the music world was easy in 2005, the year of his last traditional, non-B-sides/compilation/instrumental album, Illinois. He was simply a brilliant songwriter, tapping into stories from state history to expose his own intense beliefs and vulnerabilities. His sprawling, manic and stunning compositions were equally balanced with stripped-down, delicate folk pieces to create a wonderful and varied collage.

Now, normally when we write about songwriters we have a tendency to look to the past to draw comparisons. Everyone is inevitably reduced to Bob Dylan, or Bruce Springsteen or Nick Drake, or, or, or, or… During 2005, I would’ve put Sufjan up there with any one of these guys in the upper echelon of writing. And though it’s cliché to do so, if forced to make a comparison, I think he most resembled Brian Wilson than any songwriter we’ve seen in this era. The way he looked to childhood innocence and basic beliefs to extrapolate moods and motifs throughout his music was fantastic.

These days, Sufjan draws a different kind of attention to himself. Perhaps because of his disaffection with the delivery system and format of music, or maybe because of the self-imposed limits of his own ambition, he has become more of a behind-the-scenes artist. His work his shifted more to the realm of composer and collaborator. In a way, what was once a career that could have broadened to Brian Wilson status, he has chosen a different path; something akin to that of Wilson colleague, Van Dyke Parks.

Micro:

OK. Long-winded intro aside; I say all of these things to contextualize where in Sufjan’s career he is upon the release of The Age of Adz. It’s a seemingly dark place.

If Illinois characterized a place or event, it would have been a ticker-tape parade at the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. If Adz was a place or event, it would be a funeral processional in an indistinct future. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

One of the more amazing things about the recent shift in Sufjan’s career (starting with “You are the Blood” off of Dark Was the Night) is his use of electronics in his production. Granted, he has made a straight electronic album in the past (2001’s Enjoy Your Rabbit); and since has produced straight folk albums (2004’s Seven Swans) and the aforementioned and varied Illinois. Just like in Illinois, Adz uses a broad spectrum of instruments and melodies to create these impressionist compositions. But the way he uses synth, beeps, buzzes and auto-tune alongside his orchestra of a sound palate is really an accomplishment.

I brought up Van Dyke Parks earlier, because there are definitely traces of that style of fluttery, whimsical flourishes imbedded in these 11 synth-heavy tracks. A perfect example of this balance is the stunning “Too Much” (which I will post after the album’s October 12 release date.) It’s truly a pleasure to see someone with such a solid track record attempting to push himself and music as a whole further.

Having said that; ambition doesn’t come without a cost. While it’s great to laud boundary pushing and genre splicing, Adz tends to struggle under the weight of its own aspirations. The tracks jump from dance-y electronica to Disney strings and horns schizophrenically. Most of the time it’s a pleasant experience, but there is a certain amount of challenge to the listener in 75 minutes of jumping around (including the 25-minute closing track “Impossible Soul”).

Overall, I feel we’re going to revere The Age of Adz for years to come. But, like Joanna Newsom’s Have One On Me from earlier this year, the task put on the person experiencing the record is too much to warrant multiple listens. And maybe because of this, everything Sufjan feared with regards to how we listen to records will be his downfall; it’ll be chopped down to 2 tracks on an iPod playlist.

The Age of Adz can be streamed here, and pre-ordered here.

Dig It,

Erik

An Actual Review: Wavves - King of the Beach

Wavves frontman Nathan Williams is a bitch. He's also an asshole, a coward, a dickhead, and an irresponsible, no-contributing zero.

If that sounds harsh, that's because it is. It's also the most prevalent theme on the SoCal band's third album, King of the Beach, which essentially plays like 40 minutes of ennui-fueled self-flagellation. It is for this very reason, however, that the album is successful. By exploring notions of isolation and inadequacy (balanced with boredom and leisure), he's also exploring, and in many cases successfully capturing, some of the most vital parts of youth. In an era of manufactured nostalgia through sonic signifiers and esoteric cultural references, Williams has found a way to create something honest, often times at his own expense.

It was really easy to dismiss the band's second album, Wavvves, as a Pitchfork, hipster hype-fueled fail parade shrouded in layers of fuzz as compensation for lack of ability. I said the same thing when I heard the album on first listen. After a while, however, it grew on me; the fuzz began to make sense in the albums' context. With King of the Beach, Williams has proven that he can not only hit the notes, but he can create a cohesive, still gritty yet clean record. I hope upon listening to KOTB, Wavvves detractors will give the latter another listen.

Breakdown backstory notwithstanding, Williams avoided a potential pitfall with KOTB by not only enlisting Producer Dennis Herring (whose resume includes The Hives, Modest Mouse and Ben Folds, among others) but also including his current bandmates Stephen Pope and Billy Hayes who formerly worked with Jay Reatard. These decisions enabled Wavves to create an album Williams wouldn't have been able to do alone. And for a man who appears destined to disaster when left to his own devices, the decision becomes that much more significant.

On to the music. I totally agree with my colleague Tim's assessment that the album is front-loaded. The caustic guitar that characterizes the first six tracks is more or less absent on the last six. Yet, in spite of the tone shift (from aggressive to spaced-out) between the two sides, the album retains its cohesiveness, due in large part to Williams' newfound grasp on melody and subtle production cues (like the dissonant claps that shudder in and out throughout the album).

In macro, one has to contextualize Wavves as a California punk band in the Internet age; which means they owe their sound as much to The Descendents as they do to the Beach Boys as they do to Animal Collective as they do to No Age. The true accomplishment of this album is synthesizing all of these readily available references into something that feels new: a more aggressive, youthful angst take on the summer fun inhabiting the (indie) music world at this time.

As the second half of the album seems to hint at a new direction for Wavves, it'll be interesting to see the perspective we get on King of the Beach when a new album is released, as we did this time. That is, unless Nathan Williams self-destructs by then.

Best Listened To: On a Saturday morning after you've been a dick to all of your friends the night before. Preferably drinking Gatorade to rehydrate as you sweat toxins in oppressive August heat, wearing Wayfarers.

Highlight tracks: "King of the Beach" is in the running for the track of the summer; just so infectious. "Idiot," as Tim said, has a great melody, and just thrashes. "Baseball Cards" is a great chill song. "Green Eyes," is probably the height of emotion on the album, and just has a flat-out awesome melody.

Wavves - King of the Beach by BubbleWolf

Best,
Erik

(Image by parttimemusic, licensed under Creative Commons)