Calliope Music Review of the Week
Sufjan Stevens - Javelin
A Sanguine Stab to the Heart
Layered acoustic guitar and banjo gently introduce bright chords, before stick drumming and bellowing bass kicks anchor elevated harmonies and dribbling electronics. Tender strumming sets an intimate tone ideal for Stevens' effortlessly soft and wispy voice. As progressions build, Stevens' vocals accompany immense choirs of ascending harmony, serenading in an effervescent cloud of brilliant jingles and cascading synths.
All of the while, the lyrics paint a fantastical picture of a warm love and its slow, tortuous fade. Tracks such as "A Running Start" and "My Red Little Fox" utilize elegant imagery and spiritual iconography to describe a deep and desperate intimacy. This almost mythically powerful affection is met with hard times, leading to its eventual downfall on the tracks "So You Are Tired," "Javelin," and "Shit Talk." Javelin's blend of majestic instrumentation and harrowing verse form a crushing juxtaposition between tender love and grieving loss.
Dedicated to Stevens' late partner, Javelin acts as exactly that: a spear that pierces the heart and its deepest vulnerabilities. While some of the acoustic developments are not unique or new to Indie Folk music, their moderate nature escorts a compassion that is taken full advantage of throughout the 42 minute album. The vocals compliment this sentiment through their feathery textures, lifting off as an ensemble of singers soar in chorus and refrain. Add on mystical symbolism and dazzling anodic crescendos and the project beckons the listener to come closer and see such intimacy first hand.
No matter how tragic this affection becomes, the music's sparkling atmospheres remind one to embrace every loving moment before its over. Such glittering environments and divine wordplay guide the listener through a fairytale-like journey; a journey to the Javelin responsible for all love gained and all love lost.
Best Tracks: Goodbye Evergreen -- A Running Start -- Will Anybody Ever Love Me? -- My Red Little Fox -- So You Are Tired -- Javelin (To Have and to Hold) -- Shit Talk -- There's a World
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