Album review: "The Age of Adz"

For all his sonic landscape genius, Sufjan Stevens might as well be the smart kid in high school everyone loves to hate, and in turn hates to love. He’s mastered folk, multiple classical instruments, and has a feather-light voice known for emitting smart, heartfelt lyrics. But after lying low for five years, he’s probably lost his edge and could be beaten by such folk acts as Beirut and The Decemberists.

He’s known for pursuing projects that, when described on paper, sound like terrible ideas (read: “Illinois”), but ends up salvaging the disaster of folk and electronic dynamics into a gem. It probably sounds like crap, doesn’t it?

But Stevens makes it work. The sound is new, wise and edgy, and he’s taken folk psychedelia into new realms that ooze electronica. “The Age of Adz” blends Stevens’ signature sound of classical instruments and ethereal vocals with the latest taste in synth boops and beeps. This is the equivalent of Stevens joining the basketball team and pissing everyone off when he’s automatically made team captain because of his mad skillz.

“Futile Devices” opens the album in classic Sufjan candor: gentle whisper-singing, harp plucks, harmonic voice layering and ambling guitar. The second track, “Too Much,” catches seasoned fans off guard with the first two minutes containing synth drips and distorted explosions. By the bridge, Stevens gels both dynamics, including the drips and distortion with a string section and fluttering woodwinds.

It continues for almost 75 minutes.

While it’s a grand effort and great to hear this experiment of yin and yang packaged and polished, it seems like as Stevens progresses in his musical growth, so does his arrogance. Therein lies the frustration with this artist. Yes, his music is brilliant, but he believes “Impossible Soul” is so great it’s worth publishing the original cut—a whopping 25-minute long track to conclude the album.

Regardless, “Adz” is a far more personal record than its predecessors, and with his bolder words and how he delivers them, he’s bound to fall victim to his own ego. The lyrics follow a theme of maturity and reflection, as evident on songs such as “I Walked” and “Now That I’m Older.” But, it’s not to say Stevens doesn’t have fun with his newfound musicality (“Get Real Get Right,” “Age of Adz”), or doesn’t return to old-school poetic prose, such as in “Vesuvius.” Stevens breaks out of his soft singing, such as when yelling “I’m not fucking around” as “I Want to Be Well” bleeds into “Impossible Soul,” and briefly auto-tunes his voice during the closing opus, bound to make modern rappers blush.

Though Stevens may not have mastered psychedelic pop, like bands such as Yeasayer have, he’s certainly a force to be reckoned with. Though “The Age of Adz” is a reminder of how annoying Stevens can be with his talents, it’s proof he continues to pioneer unsought territories and set up camp in the most unpromising of environments, only to mine gold.