Artist: Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, & James McAlister
Album: Planetarium
Label: 4AD
Genre: Defies classification
Comments: Sufjan Stevens is no stranger to bold projects and large, sweeping concept albums. This is the man who, after all, proclaimed that he would make an album dedicated to each of the 50 U.S. states, stopping after beautifully representing Illinois and his home state of Michigan only because he knew he wouldn’t be able to spend the time required to portray each place as he wanted. In his newest project, Sufjan teams up with composers Bryce Dessner (The National) and Nico Muhly and percussionist James McAlister to looks beyond the United States and beyond Earth, into the stars, planets, and other celestial bodies beyond.
The 17 songs on the record seem to all be hand-crafted to perfection, with Sufjan’s controlled voice worked meticulously until it plays perfectly with the accompanying string arrangements that seem to twinkle and shine like the stars they’re meant to represent. Some tracks might not fit well with the radio, but all in all, Planetarium is a wonderful record that grips you and plays with your emotions like a ground-breaking novel or a piece of theater.
DNP: none
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