November 2018: Album Review Roundup

As I settle in for my first-ever winter here in the midwest, I’ve found myself thankful for ice scrapers, Dr. Martens, and lots of good music. It may already be colder outside than I’ve ever experienced in my entire life, but at least November gave us got lots of great new music to keep warm. Here are some of the month’s best albums.

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Metro Boomin’ - Not All Heroes Wear Capes

After taking a short hiatus earlier this year, the biggest producer in the rap game has returned to his rightful space at the top of the modern music landscape. With 21 Savage and Travis Scott features aplenty, Not All Heroes Wear Capes is a producer-led playlist the like of which we rarely see anymore. From Crooning Swae Lee tracks to worldly dance songs, even a fast-paced Drake feature, everything about the album seems scientifically-designed to succeed. Indicative of the goodwill he’s built up in the industry, the record earned Metro a well-deserved #1 spot on the Billboard chart, perhaps signaling a new era for the unspoken heroes of the rap game: producers.

boygenius - boygenius

In 2015 Julien Baker released Sprained Ankle and it destroyed me. In 2016 Lucy Dacus released No Burden and it moved me. In 2017 Phoebe Bridgers released Stranger in the Alps and it robbed me of happiness for a full calendar year. Now in 2018 the three musicians team up to take down my emotional state once and for all with boygenius, a 6-song EP of smoldering emotional destruction. With voices that intertwine, unfurl, and cast a spell on the listener, boygenius is a siren song of sadness and emotions all entangling like a string of Christmas lights.

Sufjan Stevens - Lonely Man of Winter

I love Christmas. I love Sufjan. I love Sufjan’s Christmas work. Originally recorded in 2007, “Lonely Man of Winter” has existed for over one decade as a single vinyl record belonging to Alec Duffy who originally won the track in a Christmas Song Exchange with Sufjan himself. Since 2007 Duffy held yearly listening parties of the song for friends and family (complete with hot cocoa), but now the track has been released to the world in both its original form and as a 2018 Doveman remix featuring Melissa Mary Ahern. Adding onto Sufjan’s already-massive 100-song Holiday Canon, “Lonely Man of Winter” is a lush, crisp, and bitter look at the holiday season. The single also includes “Every Day Is Christmas,” the track that won Duffey the honor of guarding this Sufjan rarity. Overall, Lonely Man of Winter is a welcome throwback to the heyday of Sufjan’s Holiday powers and a song that makes me feel like the entire world has received an early Christmas treat.

August Burns Red - Winter Wilderness EP

Aside from Sufjan Stevens, August Burns Red is my next favorite creator of Christmas music. While the group initially dipped their toe into the genre with a headbanging rendition of “Carol of the Bells” back in 2008, the metalcore act eventually unveiled their full Christmas spirit in 2012 with their full-length holiday album Sleddin’ Hill. Releasing one additional Christmas single every season from that year forward, the group has now returned with Winter Wilderness, a six-track EP of holiday offerings. From spicy originals like “Avalanche” to traditional classics like “What Child is This?” and even some out-of-the-box deep-pulls like the Home Alone Theme, this EP has a little something for every type of Christmas fan.

Vince Staples - FM!

Vince Staples feels like rap’s odd man out. His debut double-album Summertime ‘06 made waves in insular music communities, Prima Donna attempted to cultivate his fanbase, and Big Fish Theory pushed the boundaries of the current hip-hop sound. He’s tried everything he can, and never really broken through to a mainstream level of acceptance… not that the man himself is too concerned with that. On FM! Vince takes listeners through hectic two-minute chunks of a would-be terrestrial hip-hop station. Featuring interviews, sneak peeks, and surprisingly-accessible bangers, FM! feels like the synthesis of his high-concept aspirations with the kind of radio-ready hits he often finds himself circling around. Only time will tell how deeply this resonates with his current fanbase, let alone connects to the audience just outside of it.

Liance - The Rat House

When he’s not penning ambient music as Ministry of Interior Spaces, James Li creates heart-rending indie songs under the moniker Liance. Inspired by true events, The Rat House acts as a companion piece to Bronze Age of the Nineties, both of which recount the events of his college years spent in Michigan. Featuring densely-packed multi-part folk epics, bite-size personal tales, and Sufjan-esque instrumentation, The Rat House is a more than worthy successor to his full-length. And clocking in at just 14 minutes, it’s a wonder he was able to pack such deeply-emotional and universally-human feelings into such a small amount of time.

Read our full review of The Rat House here.

Takeoff - The Last Rocket

Takeoff has always been my favorite Migo. While I definitely understand the poppy appeal of Quavo and the hard-edged bars of Offset, Takeoff’s untouchable flow is often my favorite component of any Migos song. While he’s often unfairly named last as anyone’s favorite Migo, The Last Rocket is irrefutable proof that he can stand on his own as an artist, creator, and voice to rise above the crowd. The second solo Migos release of the year following QUAVO HUNCHO, Takeoff’s turn at the wheel sees him crafting everything from grimy gangster tracks to raspy confessionals, all with expected proficiency and accessibility.

Fleet Foxes -First Collection 2006-2009

Way back in 2006 a group named Fleet Foxes emerged from a rainy corner of Seattle, signed to Sub Pop Records, and released one of the most important folk records of the decade. Fleet Foxes’ self-titled debut, alongside albums like For Emma, Forever Ago, acted as an entry point to the indie music genre for hordes of directionless teenagers (myself included). Now one decade down the line from that album’s release, the band have returned with a wistful and comprehensive four-disc compilation of demos, outtakes, and b-sides. It’s interesting to listen to First Collection and wonder what songs might have become iconic classics had they released back in ‘08, but for now, all we can do is listen, reflect, and appreciate the hearty wilderness of Fleet Foxes’ early years.

Earl Sweatshirt - Some Rap Songs

Spring of 2015 was a weird time for me. A major transition in my life combined with the changing of the seasons compounded into a mixture of anxiety and claustrophobia that felt like an uphill battle to overcome. Extensive listening to Earl Sweatshirt’s second album I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside definitely didn’t help alleviate that feeling. Now, nearly four years after his sophomore record, I’m in a much better spot, and the public has finally got its hands on Earl’s long-awaited follow-up. The unceremoniously-named, Some Rap Songs is a dissonant, blippy, and insular hip-hop album that’s as enigmatic as it is reclusive. With most of the songs hovering around one-minute-long, the tracks clip forward with muffled Madlib-esque beats and effortless flows. A dense, personal, and abrupt album that forces you to lean in, listen, and absorb it fully.

Quick Hits

• Action Bronson - White Bronco: Embracing his go-to husky flow, Bronson makes a brief outing to discuss food, women, drugs, and fashion in this mixtape released the second the clock struck midnight on Halloween.  

• Sun Kil Moon - This Is My Dinner: It’s basically a sad podcast.

• Sia - Everyday is Christmas (Deluxe): The Australian pop star revisits her fabulous Christmas bops of yesteryear, adding on a trio of cheerful oddities.

• Rostam - In A River: Technically just one song recorded in three different styles, Rostam’s newest single still feels rich enough to gorge out on in the most decadent and delicate way possible.

• Ellis - The Fuzz: Dreamy and lonely indie rock songs beamed across a pastel canvas that’s burning slowly.

• Nap Eyes - Too Bad: A two-song sample platter of the group’s lovely and laid-back indie rock tunes that drip with Lou Reed-inflection.

• Smino - NOIR: Fast-paced and hyper-lyrical jazzy raps straight from the soul.

• Hopeless Records - Songs That Saved My Life: From Dance Gavin Dance to Wonder Years Frontman Daniel Campbell, this comp organized by Hopeless Records is packed with mutual appreciation and admiration sure to warm your inner pop-punk kid’s heart.

• Grapetooth - Grapetooth: A wildcard new signee in the Polyvinyl lineup, Grapetooth’s self-titled debut exceeds expectations as a groovy, synthy record that mixes throwback instrumentation with distinctly modern lyrics and deliveries.

• It Looks Sad. - Sky Lake: Dreamy, swirling, atmospheric indie rock with an electronic infusion.

• Architects - Holy Hell: Anthemic metalcore recorded in the wake of guitarist and founding member Tom Searle’s death.

• Lil Peep - Come Over When You're Sober Pt. 2: Elaborating on the intoxicating mix of emo and trap we witnessed on the preceding album, this sequel is a swan song to Lil Peep’s life, and proof that one’s impact can last beyond death.

• Macseal - Map It Out: Jangly heart-on-sleeve pop-punk that’s as pleasant as it is earnest.

• CupcakKe - Eden: Horny, Hungry, and Hilarious, Mrs. CupcakKe is the exact type of emcee we need in 2018.

• IDK - IDK & FRIENDS :): A start-studded producer-led EP of bangers.

• Anderson .Paak - Oxnard: Funky hip-pop with stellar Dre production and passionate vocals.

• Tyler, The Creator - Music Inspired By Illumination & Dr. Seuss' The Grinch: Following his iconic contribution to this year’s Grinch reboot, Tyler doubles-down with an EP full of Grinch-themed hip-hop cuts.

• Smashing Pumpkins - Shiny And Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.: While this may be one of the best records the group has put out recently, Billy Corgan is still a bad person, and that makes me want to dislike this album.

• Mike Will Made-It - Creed II: The Album: The mastermind behind some of hip-hop’s biggest hits tries his hand at his own Kendrick Lamar-esque curated soundtrack for this year’s biggest sports drama.

• Jaden Smith - The Sunset Tapes: A Cool Tape Story: While he’s a meme to some, Jaden Smith is actually surprisingly personable and proficient when he focuses on rapping.

• Memphis May Fire - Broken: Synthetic and sterilized metalcore that’s stretching desperately for maturity and emotional resonance.

• Tenacious D - Post-Apocalypto: The gut-busting and earnest soundtrack to Tenacious D’s post-apocalyptic animated series of the same name.

• Like Moths To Flames - Dark Divine Reimagined: Three songs from the band’s 2017 record revisited in a heartfelt acoustic style.

• Something Merry - EMO​-​TION: A wide range of indie/emo/pop-punk darlings sharing their takes of Carly Rae Jepsen’s monumental E•MO•TION, all for a good cause.

• Oneohtrix Point Never - Love in the Time of Lexapro: Songs for drugged-out space cowboys.

• Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, Clams Casino, and Fish Narc - Spider Web: Five goth rap tracks from an ex-pop-punk icon.

• J.I.D - DiCaprio 2: Impactful and compact bars from the most outstanding member of this year’s XXL Freshman Class.

• The 1975 - A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships: This is probably what they were listening to in “San Junipero.”

• Mac Miller - Spotify Singles: Two posthumously-released cuts that showcase Miller’s unique voice and sense of style.

• Lil Baby - Street Gossip: His third release of the year, Lil Baby keeps his hot streak alive with another helping of catchy, personable, and flex-worthy trap.

• Meek Mill - Championships: Mother. Fucking. Heat.

• Ski Mask the Slump God - Stokeley: Hip-hop that jumps between vocal-chord-destroying shouts and hyper-dense rapid-fire bars.

• Jeff Tweedy - WARM: A soundtrack from the Wilco frontman that goes hand-in-hand with his memoir from earlier this month.

• Thomas Erak - The Whole Story: The Fall of Troy guitarist spreads his wings in a snarling and technical 22-minute crowdfunded solo EP.

• Peewee Longway - State of the Art: A trapped-out hip-hop release for the streets.

• The Alchemist - Bread: Four star-studded slow-moving rap tracks alongside their instrumental counterparts.

• David Bowie - Glastonbury 2000: Two hours of David Bowie live goodness.

• Oliver Houston - Mixed Reviews: The final release from the Grand Rapids emo rockers.

• The Mountain Goats - Aquarium Drunkard's Lagniappe Session: A mini-offering of Bon Iver, Robin Trower, and Godspell covers.

• Wavves - Emo Christmas: Two surfy Christmas cuts from the recovering party animals.

This month we also heard new singles from Saba, Desiigner, Juice WRLD, Ice Cube, Shame, JPEGMAFIA, Emarosa, Hozier, 2 Chainz, Kodak Black, Saba, Girlpool, The Regrettes, Weezer, Preoccupations, Amine, Manchester Orchestra, Slaves, A$AP Rocky, Vulfpeck, Mono, Iceage, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sharon Van Etten, Jeff Tweedy, Travis Scott, Kim Petras, Grimes, Phoebe Bridgers, Kaytranada, American Pleasure Club, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Conor Oberst, Big K.R.I.T., The Beths, Offset, Cold War Kids, Say Anything, Jay Rock, AFI, Blood Orange, Arctic Monkeys, Men I Trust, Deaf Dog, Chance The Rapper (Times Two), and Saba.

Liance – The Rat House | EP Review

The most formative years of your life seem to happen when you least expect them. Despite the narrative spun by popular culture, the most important events in your life are not always confined to childhood, or your first relationship, or any other “expected” demarcation point. You don’t get to plan the twists in your life, the only thing you can control is how you react to them. 

No matter what form these events take in your own life, we often don’t recognize them for what they are until they’re over. They become symbolic in our own narrative. One monument within an ever-changing mythology that we venture back to, draw from, and reflect upon for decades to come. On his newest EP as Liance, Brighton-based musician James Li has crystalized this time in his life and put it on display for the entire world to see. 

In contrast to his ambient project Ministry of Interior Spaces, Liance exists as a more autobiographical musical entity, weaving personal tales of grief, love, and loss all of which pull inspiration from his own life. Recorded between 2014 and 2018, The Rat House acts as a companion piece to Bronze Age of the Nineties, both of which recount Li’s time during college in Michigan and the hyper-formative events surrounding him at that time. 

We should all be so lucky to have the feeling of our college experience remembered in such a beautiful and undegredated form. From the people you meet to the specific details of one night’s drunken adventures, college contains some of the most important memories of your life, and often they only live inside your head. As the years tick by those memories get fainter and fainter, so it’s best to document them now before the whos and the whys become unclear. 

In The Rat House’s 1-minute opening track “Bernie Rally,” Li recalls a chance encounter with someone at a Bernie Sanders rally. While the details date the song to a specific time and place, the feeling he manages to capture is a universal truth. A single spark that comes from a seemingly-divine meeting, an evening spent together, and then nothing. It’s a compact tale that opens the album on a bittersweet but lovingly-emotional note. 

Title track “The Rat House” acts as the album’s lush centerpiece, a multi-layered work pulling a wide range of instruments and wrapping them up into a single reflective package. Beginning with an uneasy guitar, the song grows over time and introduces a slowly-mounting drumline alongside gorgeous brass accompaniment all while retaining the same core melody and mood. It’s a single-song journey that aches with passionate beauty before exploding into sound, light, color, and life. 

Songs like “Milk” and “Julian” serve to further the plot of Li’s life through vignettes of abstracted beauty. Whether accompanied by banjo, dulcimer, or piano, each track adds on to the mythology of his own created life, sketching a portrait for the audience to absorb and internalize. 

The language Li uses throughout the release is both careful and loving. Lyrics like “I like the pictures that you take / I want to live in pictures you take” illustrate a distant form of appreciation that’s tapered off into something else entirely. Similarly, lines like “This house is stained with me and you” stand on their own and prod the listener into thinking deeply about the story being weaved while simultaneously projecting their own experience onto it. 

The Rat House is a beautiful release, and clocking in at only 14 minutes, it’s a marvel that Li was able to pack such a lovely amount of well-lived feeling into such a short space. It’s a heart-rending exposition of the self, and one that can only exist through music. It’s self-documentation of the highest degree. 

Sometimes remembering our own past is the only way to move forward, and The Rat House is a wonderful way to capture the multi-layered flash of one’s college years. While the album only documents Li’s specific experiences, its themes, tales, and feelings are unshakably universal. There’s likely to be at least a few moments in the EP’s 14 minutes that will send a rush of blood to long-forgotten memory in a distant corner of your brain. 

The Rat House is a beautifully-crafted release that impresses its feelings upon you and leaves you better for it. Years compressed into minutes. A lifetime of feelings that you didn’t even know you shared with the rest of the world. 

It’s rare to find a piece of art that feels so personal and relevant to your own life while also managing to tell the creator’s story effectively. Throughout this EP we see an artist who is tapped into something bigger, a universal struggle not just for happiness, but for life. The Rat House is the sound of hundreds of memories being unearthed, and it’s here to take you on that journey whenever you're ready.

Say Yes To Michigan: A Physical Exploration of Sufjan Stevens' Third Album

One year ago I published my write-up on Sufjan Steven’s Michigan, and in the three years I’ve spent running this blog it’s still the thing I’m most proud of. It took many hours, revisions, and relistens to hone that post to a point where the words accurately captured my affection for the record, and even then my relationship with the album has evolved in the past 12 months.

This fall I accepted a job in Detroit and moved out to the Great Lake State from my hometown of Portland, Oregon. While there are plenty of reasons why taking that job was an objectively-good career move, I’d be lying if I said my love for this record didn’t influence my decision in some way. 

So back in September I packed my belongings into my car and spent five days driving across the country to a state I’d never been to, where I knew nobody, and knew almost nothing about.

On my way across the state line, I stopped at the welcome center, took photos, and (of course) queued up Sufjan’s Michigan on my phone. I also made sure to keep my physical copy of the record handy for any photo opportunities that may present themselves, and I quickly realized that there would be many. 

Using a state map from the visitor center, I sat down with Genius, Google Maps, and my copy of the record to plot out how many different locations Sufjan names throughout the course of the record’s 66-minute running time. Turns out it’s a lot.

What the process looked liked.

While it’s far from comprehensive, I’ve gone out of my way to visit the sights, sounds, and feelings captured on Sufjan’s third record. I’m not going to pretend this is anything more than a glorified iPhone-quality photo gallery, but I view it as an amendment to last year’s Michigan write-up. It’s a physical manifestation of my love for the record and how much it has impacted my life both spiritually and literally. 

This post is a documentation of my life and how Michigan continues to intertwine with it every step of the way. 

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Flint (For the Unemployed and Underpaid)

City of Flint Water Plant

City of Flint Water Plant

For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti

Ypsilanti City Hall

Say Yes! to M!ch!gan!

Bagley Pedestrian Bridge

Holland

Holland

Big Red Lighthouse

Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)

The Spirit of Detroit

Romulus

Romulus Historical Museum

Sleeping Bear, Sault Saint Marie

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

They Also Mourn Who Do Not Wear Black (For the Homeless in Muskegon)

Muskegon State Park

Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)

The Redford Theater

The Marquee of Redford Township

Yours Truly Enjoying Sleeping Bear, running to the top, and only getting a little scared

Submitted Music Showcase Volume 1

2018 has been a year of many firsts for this blog. One of the most significant changes was a full redesign as we escaped from the clutches of Tumblr and moved onto our own dedicated site. While it was a long time in the making (and comes with its own challenges), this move has allowed us much more flexibility as far as what we can do and how we can present ourselves. 

One important addition within that redesign was a contact page including an email dedicated solely to Swim Into The Sound. I initially just set this email up for solidarity and didn’t expect to get much use out of it, but I’ve been surprised, overwhelmed, and overjoyed by the number of music submissions I’ve received through it. 

Busy as ever, I’ve let these submissions build up over the past few months as I tried to figure out how they fit into the site and my schedule. Hopefully a semi-recurring feature, I wanted to create a place to write explicitly about all this awesome music that is being sent directly to me. It’s already cool to know people are reading, but to get actual music sent my way is a different form of affirmation entirely. While I can’t write about everything, I wanted to say thank you to every band, artist, and creative that’s sent their work my way. Some of these have been in my inbox since the summer, so sorry that this took so long, but I wanted to make sure I gave your art the justice it deserves. Without further adieu, I’m thrilled to present Swim Into The Sound’s first-ever Submitted Music Showcase.  

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Nanaki - Decline & Dislocation

Simultaneously prolific and moving at his own pace, Nanaki is a post-rock project helmed by Michael Daugherty who’s creating spiritual post-rock songs that drip with distortion and head-bobbing riffs. Decline & Dislocation is actually Nanaki’s second release of the year after January’s Epilogue. Recorded in tandem, the two releases are independent pieces that also function together as part of a larger journey. Opening track “Curator of Molluscs” sets the tone nicely, beginning with a slow-burn instrumental that builds into a propulsive riff worthy of a Mogwai record. The remainder of the album hits just as hard, and late album cut “Despicable Fuckwits Elect Complete Prick” is a strong contender for song title of the year.

Wet Dream - “Groove Plug”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYVLsD1m1jc

If you needed more heart-rending electronic indie rock in your life, Portland-based Wet Dream is here to supply it. Filmed in a geodesic dome filled with mirrors, the video for “Groove Plug” is a vibrant, dreamy, and hypnotic experience that pairs with the music perfectly. Sporting a smooth bass line, fan-like keyboard work, and an absolutely immaculate chorus, “Groove Plug” is a psychedelic love song of duality, replication, and universality.

William Patrick Owen - first person singular

Since the days of Bob Dylan, it’s only become easier to get your thoughts and feelings out into the world. While there were plenty of folk artists before him, Dylan represented a sort of stripped-back rough-around-the-edges purity that anyone could achieve. One man, one guitar, and his poetry. That’s it. It’s barebones, but it allows the words, emotion, and heart to take center stage, and that’s exactly what’s happening on William Patrick Owen’s first person singular. Fittingly sung from first-person, the album is a melancholy, earnest, and queer exploration of the self, sung to nobody in particular. first person singular has all the makings of a fantastic folk album. Evocative of cold fall evenings, crunchy leaves, and sorrowful goodbyes, the record is 52 minutes of nostalgic regret that can only be voiced to song, lest they be too powerful on its own. 

Polartropica - “Golden Soul”

Some topics are too raw to handle on their own. Death. Grief. Suffering. Loss. Music is important because, not only does it give us a way to cope with those concepts as a listener, it also gives artists the same opportunity. While there’s something to be said about how performing that kind of emotional exorcism night after night impacts an artist, but the form itself will always be there to act as an outlet. On “Golden Soul,” Los Angeles-based pop/psych artist Polartropica is addressing this sort of pained experience writing about a friend who went missing after becoming addicted to opioids prescribed by a doctor. Within recent years we’ve seen multiple artists speak on this topic from The Wonder Years to Kanye West, it’s an issue that’s (sadly) recurring within our society. “Golden Soul” recounts lead singer Ihui Cherise Wu’s experience losing her friend to the slow, disintegrating, and hopeless phenomenon addiction that encroaches until it swallows someone’s life. It’s a touching song with an instrumental that melds an unexpected mix of pop, synths, and string arrangements creating what she describes as a “bubblegum psychedelia” sound. A vital message packaged in a unique song that tells an all-too-familiar story. 

Tyson Kelly - “Girl You’re So Money”

Have you ever heard a song that sounded so familiar you’re sure you’ve heard it somewhere before? Something that feels as if it was beamed in from a past life. A sound that makes you unsure how music has progressed this far without this exact melody being created? That’s how I feel about Tyson Kelly’s “Girl You’re So Money.” Like a long-lost Beatles single, the song is a psychedelic love ballad with groovy guitar, smooth bass, and an absolutely infectious chorus. 

Los Doggies - Heddagabalus

Sometimes tastes are simple. Sometimes you don’t need a high-minded concept, or multi-genre mastery, you just need a really great tone. Los Doggies’ Heddagabalus is a tripped-out, grungy psych album that drips with incredible guitar tone and laid-back melodies. Sometimes you don’t need anything else. 

Weston Smith - “Beckon”

Inspired by Japanese Soul artist Hiroshi Sato, Weston Smith’s “Beckon” comes to us from DC in a skull-adorned psych pop package. Featuring a laid-back synthy instrumental, “Beckon” feels like equal parts Mac Demarco and Ween. A little weird. A little loving. A lot of emotion. 

Norphlet - Norphlet

Walking an intoxicating line between emo, pop-punk, and indie rock, Norphlet’s self-titled EP hits you right in that space teetering between melancholy and unbridled joy. Packing an emotional punch, the EP’s first track “Brand New” bowls the listener over with a fakeout acoustic start, before erupting into a raucous pop-punk beat.

Emmanuel Patterson - The Silver Story, A Starry Night

Sometimes music is best enjoyed on its own. No visuals and no distractions, just you, sound, and the void of space. That’s exactly how Emmanuel Patterson recommends his music be listened, and I couldn’t agree more. While I gave the record a spin air-condition-less in the heat of summer, the album chilled me to the bone and left me in a completely different emotional state than I was going into it. Featuring gentle singing, warm lyricism, and loving instrumentation, The Silver Story, A Starry Night is a Wintery folk album. With well-considered ornamental additions, regretful lyricism, and thought-provoking ambient stretches, the album is meant to be enjoyed in isolation. While the cover is reminiscent of American Football, the snow-covered music almost evokes Michigan-era Sufjan at some points. 

New Ghost - Burning Out EP

While they sound (and look) like a black metal band, New Ghost’s music is proof that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Released over the summer, the Group’s two-track Burning Out EP subverts expectations from its first notes, bowling the listener over with a cascading wave of electronic claps and warbles. Soon joined by the ghastly vocals of Caroline Cawley, the track plays out like a post-modern, futuristic dreamscape where technology has consumed everything and our narrator is the sole remnant of a long-forgotten world. Just as impressive, “Sleepwalkers 1 & 2” is an 8-minute instrumental expedition that winds its way to a conclusion fit for a feature-length movie.

A Very Sufjan Christmas

The following is a welcome post from our sister site A Very Sufjan Christmas. Follow us at @SufjanChristmas on Twitter or @SufjanChristmas on Instagram to enjoy daily song write-ups this December!

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The holidays are our greatest gift. Regardless of surface-level differences in how we celebrate this time of year, the one thing we all share is tradition. It doesn’t matter if you observe Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or nothing at all, every one of us have rituals we use to get us through the winter. It’s the coldest, darkest, most inhospitable time of the year, and that’s easier to get through when we’re closer to other people, both physically and psychologically. Tradition is survival. Tradition is human.

That is the true meaning of Christmas. 

Not presents.
Or Santa Claus.
Or even Jesus.

Christmas represents universal tradition. A communal coping mechanism evolved on a species-wide level for the purpose of survival on both a physical and spiritual level. Over time, Christmas has been twisted to mean hundreds of different things. The truth is Christmas is what you make of it, and that’s what makes it the greatest holiday in the world. 

While Christmas has endured in the pop-cultural landscape for far less time than the holiday itself, it has still been around long enough for millions of different traditions to develop. From Coca-Cola popularizing Santa Claus to Montgomery Ward’s creation of Rudolph, there are a seemingly infinite number of touchstones that we share as a culture. Movies, TV, music, food, smells, shapes, and symbols all seep into our head from a young age, giving us a complicated, tangled web of connections and bonds to this complicated and tangled time of year. 

Oppositely, there are just as many individual traditions that we carry out on a much smaller scale. Whether it’s watching A Christmas Story with your family or making the same cookies every year with your roommates, there are both universal celebrations and personal ones. Among this delicate balancing act of traditions, vacations, gifts, and rushing around it’s important to slow down and have a personal escape during this hyper-communal time of year. For many people, one of the newest additions to this Personal Christmas Canon is Sufjan Stevens’ holiday music. 

While you may recognize him from his contributions to 2017’s Call Me By Your Name, Sufjan has been creating soul-affirming and critically-acclaimed folk music for nearly two decades. Aside from landmark artistic creations like Illinois, Age of Adz, and Carrie & Lowell, Sufjan has also displayed his personal devotion to the holidays with a catalog of two multi-hour Christmas compilations. 

Religion, Christianity, and family have been a constant throughline of Sufjan’s discography, so the Christmas holiday proved to be both a fascination for Sufjan as well as a synthesis of all these themes. Releasing one EP a year from 2001 to 2011, Sufjan has birthed to exactly 100 Christmas songs over the course of one decade. Some original, some covers, some standards, each entry is lovingly-crafted and amounts to more than 4.5 hours of Christmas spirit. These songs are collected on Songs For Christmas and Silver and Gold, two releases that have warmed the hearts of indie fans and Christmas lovers alike. 

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A Very Sufjan Christmas is a blog dedicated to every one of these songs. Much like we all celebrate the holiday season in our special way, every listener has a unique connection with Sufjan’s extensive body of Christmas-based work. As such, each post on this website will tackle one specific Sufjan Christmas song from a different writer’s perspective as we countdown the days till Christmas. Maybe they’ll talk about their experience with Sufjan, or their memories attached to that one song. Maybe they’ll just write about the music itself. 

These songs are a window into the traditions and lives of the writer. There are few albums that have opened this many spiritual doors for this many people, and that’s why these songs must be celebrated. These are the soundtracks to Christmases past and the inner lives of music fans the world over.

You’ll quickly find that each song is a beautiful work worthy of its own celebration. Whether this is your first experience with Sufjan, or you are a long-time fan, we hope you find as much connection, warmth, and joy in these songs as we did when we first heard them. We hope you connect with these stories and that they allow you to reflect on your own traditions and those of your family. Most of all, we hope you enjoy the music and we wish you a very Sufjan Christmas this year. 

Welcome to our Winter Wonderland. 

Love, Kyle, Taylor, and the rest of the A Very Sufjan Christmas Staff.