Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

HOLY FRICKIN SHIT.

Where do I even begin with this... Sufjan Stevens has been an artist I've always respected but didn't quite care for. For some reason I wasn't really interested in his music and every time I tried to connect with him I just couldn't. So I came into this album a bit skeptical. but holy shit, This thing blew my expectations out of the damn water.

When I've heard Carrie & Lowell I loved the album, But it didn't click with me as much as I wanted it to, And I found it to be slightly underwhelming as a whole. I liked the intimacy and the honesty of the album, Its truly devastating, However I just couldn't really connect with it and it didn't impact me too much. I will relisten to it soon though.

This album is a different case, When I've heard Chicago like a month ago pretty randomly, I knew this album is going to be something special. And I finally fully listened to it a few days ago, And it didn't disappoint. This project is a larger then life emotional roller coaster, And it proved to me how great Sufjan Stevens is. On this album I finally connected with him emotionally, And I understood the genius behind his work, He is truly a one of a kind artist.

This is hands down, One of the most ambitious album I've ever heard. Its unbelievably dense lyrically, Instrumentally and concept-wise. On paper it seems like it just genuinely shouldn't work, The huge concept of the album, The long song titles, The wide variety of ambitious ideas sonically, It just sounds too complicated and messy. However Sufjan ties everything together exceptionally well with his intelligent writing and uncompromising vision, And somehow he pulled everything off phenomenally.

Production-wise, This album contains magnificent grand orchestras, choirs and beautiful arrangements and compositions. I will say that again, The instrumentals are insanely grand, Truly larger then life. Horns, Pianos, Guitars, trumpets, flutes, bells, strings and violins backed by huge group vocals and backing vocalists are all creating the rich and lush sound palette and soundscapes of this album. I do want to mention the backing vocalists Katrina Kerns and Shara Nova, Both of them did a fantastic job of accompanying Sufjan throughout the album with their gorgeous vocals. The whole album is like watching a play happening right in front of your eyes, Thanks to the lively instruments and grand production.

Sufjan's performances on this project are stellar! his singing is incredibly immersive and comforting, And his voice is weirdly captivating. His vocal delivery is so soft and elegant, Yet its amazingly touching as well. I was genuinely moved by his performances throughout the tracklist, He is such a talented singer. In terms of Sufjan's writing on the album, Its unexplainably brilliant. Its complex, Layered and very emotional. His metaphors and the way he portraits the stories and events throughout the album with his excellent storytelling and imagery are immaculate. To pull off the vision and the concept he had for this album, With his writing, Is so difficult, But thanks to the fact that he is one of the best songwriters of the past 20 years, He executed it perfectly.

Illinois is the second part of Sufjan's "50 states trilogy", Where he basically dives into the history and culture of every one of America's states, Unfortunately he stopped this project after Illinois. So on this album Sufjan explores the history and Culture of the state of Illinois, However the concept and the album itself are way deeper than that. Through Illinois' history and events he explores his own past and Characteristics alongside themes of love, Life, Death, Religion, Humanity and the state of the world. Its like he is diving into his own soul while teaching you history lessons, Which is brilliant.

One of my favorite songs on the album is "John Wayne Gacy, Jr.", Who was a real man, An American serial killer and rapist, born in Illinois. The track tells his story in a spine tingling way, Sufjan describes how he had a rough childhood, His mother was depressed and his father was a drinker. Due to his rough childhood and the fact that his head was struck by a swing when he was a kid, Which probably caused blackouts and brain damage, May have been partial causes to John becoming a serial killer. Sufjan portrays how John murdered the children and his actions, But he also suggests with the line: "Oh my God Are you one of them?" That John himself is one of the people he has murdered, He took his own life by becoming a serial killer. He used to be a normal person, And even quite popular in his neighborhood when he was an adult, But the scars and the events from his childhood made him lose his own humanity and personality, Therefore he metaphorically killed himself. This is undoubtedly one of the darkest songs on the album, And I was close to weeping when Sufjan sang on a high note "Oh my God Are you one of them?".

Another one of the highlights on the album is obviously Chicago, Which was actually the first song I've heard from it. On this track Sufjan is reminiscing his personal experiences with the city in the past, How he and his friends were traveling through the city and sleeping in parking lots, And other interactions of him and the city in the past. The song has a couple of interpretations. The first one is that the song is about falling in love in general and the break up afterwards. In life, We fall in love with places, People and many other things. This track Is about moving on, All things eventually pass. The second interpretation is quite similar but a little different, The song may be about growing up from childhood to adulthood, Sufjan is looking back at the time he was a teenager, Traveling with his friends, But life moves on, And we need to move with it.

Another interpretation for the song is that Sufjan is reflecting on his desire to change his life completely every time he feels not good with his current one. He describes different situations in his life, Where he tried to "recreate his life", But it didn't work out, And looking back, He should've accept his current state without trying to run from himself, And that's why he is repeating the line "I made a lot of mistakes" throughout the song.

This album can offer all the emotions you could've possibly ask for from an album, Its can be emotional, Uplifting, Dark, Unsettling and sad. Every track is just as important to the overall concept of the album as the last one, Even the interludes are incredible, And it keeps you engaged throughout the whole 64 minutes.

Illinois is an outstanding masterpiece by one of the most talented songwriters of the past 20 years, It's a powerhouse of an album, incredibly ambitious, But insanely rewarding and compelling. 

~ Album of the Year