Sufjan (pronounced "soof-yahn") Stevens is considered the poster child of indie folk, pairing simple, expressive lyrics with complex acoustics. But his 2010 album, “The Age of Adz” features a radical departure from his original wispy style, melding a full orchestra with distorted soundscapes, filtered vocals, and booming beats.
The eight-minute titular track “Age of Adz” encompasses the best of the album to tell a vague yet vulnerable story, communicating the gradual descent of an ancient, supreme being who falls in love with a human.
The intro doesn’t hesitate to scream its power with heavy synthesizers combining with pulsing trombones and a frenzy of flutes. A distant chorus of voices are reminiscent of cries of worship. All of it establishes an apocalyptic, larger-than-life feel charged with chaotic energy, yet it focuses on a single subject filled with confusion and longing.
When the song finally begins, Stevens' voice is far-off and echo-y
“Well I have known you / For just a little while / But I feel I’ve known you / I feel I’ve seen you / When the Earth was split in fives.”
The next verse struggles to reconcile the singer’s love with eventual loss, yet the music begins to swell with the bridge, repeating over and over again like a mantra throughout the whole song.
“This is the Age of Adz / Eternal living”
Then he proclaims victoriously,
“When I die, when I die / I'll rot / But when I live, when I live / I'll give it all I've got.”
However, the song begins to be filled with insecurities, with Stevens telling his love that he needs to move on from his obsession. Eventually, it fades to just Stevens’ voice and a guitar for an emotional end,
“I'm sorry if I seem self-effacing / Consumed by selfish thoughts / It's only that I still love you deeply / It's all the love I've got.”
At face value, the whole song is alien.
Not strange, not weird, alien.
At some level, it's even slightly disturbing because of how dissonant it is. But through clever crafting, Stevens is able to harmonize all the noise, perfectly contrasting the panic and frenzy of the apocalypse with the intimacy of a personal relationship. And this is just one song out of a whole album that are just as raw and powerful.
To listen to the rest of "The Age of Adz" and Sufjan's other works, you can check them out here.
