Sufjan Stevens – A Sun Came

Versatility is undeniably a great virtue in a musician, but judging from the creative output of most, it is also typically one of the last to develop. As most artists spend the first two or three albums simply trying to find their own sound, incorporating an eclectic aesthetic usually has to take a backseat by necessity. Sufjan Stevens, however, seems to have made versatility one of his primary focuses, as A Sun Came, his debut, creeps through 70+ minutes of diverse indie singer-songwriter fare, while simultaneously coming at the other end of the spectrum from the densely electronic sounds found on his follow-up, Enjoy Your Rabbit. In short, this is a man who believes in spreading his net wide when trying to decide just what he wants to capture musically.
Besides being “a graphic designer, amateur seamster, crocheter of ski caps, and a writer of short fiction,” Stevens is quite an accomplished singer-songwriter, as well. His ear for vibrant electronic instrumentals having been fully displayed on Enjoy Your Rabbit, it’s quite remarkable to witness the decidedly lo-fi sensibilities of this 18-track song cycle. His voice, frequently double-tracked to harmonize with himself, is often just above a whisper, falling somewhere between Art Garfunkel’s delicate croon and the creaky squeal of June Panic’s scratchy pipes. Still, this is far from the run of the mill sensitive-guy-with-a-guitar school of songwriting. The frequent appearance of a variety of recorders and wood flutes gives the tracks an alternately Celtic and Middle Eastern tint, injecting a captivating mystery in the arrangements that go far beyond simple guitar strums.
The swirling intensity of “A Winner Needs a Wand” builds exotic layers on top of piano and acoustic guitars, just as the shadowy lo-fi guitar rock of “Demetrius” slips into a somewhat stereotypical “snake charmer” melody while unwinding through six minutes of groaning dark grooves and hidden passages. Still, Stevens just as often comes up with soothing and delicately dreamy sounds, as with the tinkling piano and sad ruminations on lost love in “Dumb I Sound” and the gorgeous rising and falling finger-picked guitar lines of “Happy Birthday.” Although his verse it often fairly impenetrable, with lines like “Cave the Cadmus country soon / Europa’s sake he drew, till the oracle said wander” being fairly common, extremely picturesque passages do occasionally pop up, as with the more common boat and water imagery of “Wordworth’s Ridge (for Fran Fike).”
Although obviously drawing on a different textural palette than on Enjoy Your Rabbit, a similar ominous feel colors A Sun Came. The arrangement of crackling beats, spiraling and reverby guitar lines, and expanding intricacy of “A Loverless Bed (Without Remission)” certainly isn’t a far leap from his more experimental recordings. Further, the gritty guitar tones of “The Oracle Said Wonder” and the downright frighteningly blunt imagery of “Kill” add to the already building sense of unease, although Stevens is also seen to inject a little humor into the set. The Beck-ish slo-jam, “SuperSexyWoman” and the gloriously chaotic “Rice Pudding” (sample lyric: “Because I know you, and I feel you, and I’ll feed you rice pudding at the benefit concert”) do well to break the occasional overly cryptic feel of the album.
To be sure, few artists have chosen such widely varying sounds for their first two releases as Sufjan Stevens. Having shown himself capable of setting up camp anywhere on the stylistic map, he should be one of the more interesting artists to watch grow, expand, and mutate over the coming years. Pursuing an uncommon musical adventurousness, his vision is incredibly free of cliché or formula, making it hard to even find a reasonable reference point when describing his style. In the end, Sufjan Stevens proves that following one’s muse is sometimes all that is needed in finding that elusive versatility.