Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz

(Asthmatic Kitty)

An endlessly inventive songwriter and musician, Sufjan Stevens here abandons for the most part the nu-folk banjo-and-piano sound that first got him noticed, replacing it with a mix of offbeat glitchy electronica and wide-eyed studio orchestration. Pitched somewhere between the experimentation of early album Enjoy Your Rabbit and the conventional songsmithery of Seven Swans, it’s a sumptuous and enthralling experience, swithering between Stevens’ intimate, touching vocals and truly original panoramic arrangements. ‘Age of Adz’ sums it up in a nutshell – an eight-minute sonic rollercoaster which romps from bombastic futuristic pop to fragile guitar and back again. Something of a maverick genius.