Sufjan Stevens – Javelin – Album Review
by Cathy Brown

The release of Sufjan Stevens’ tenth studio album should be cause for celebration, but it has been overshadowed by the news that he has recently been diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare debilitating autoimmune disorder.  The diagnosis has left Stevens having to relearn how to walk, despite a strong chance of a full recovery.

It is a shame then that he is unable to take part in the promotion of what might just be his best album to date, as Javelin marries the best of his classic albums. Blending the epic, high-concept of Illinois with the sparse vulnerability of Carrie and Lowell, he has created an uplifting, triumphant and epic collection of songs.

Musically speaking, almost everything on this album is down to Stevens. He has enlisted friends Adrienne Maree Brown, Hannah Cohen, Pauling Delassus, Megan Lui and Nedelle Torrisi to provide his chorus and his echo, their shared vocals bringing light and breadth to these introspective songs.

Nearly every song on Javelin begins as an intimate vocal and single instrument melody before growing exponentially with layers of vocals, strings, instrumentation and percussion, to lift the song to a pleasing cacophony of sound. Opener ‘Goodbye Evergreen’ feels like a three-for-one song, moving seamlessly from piano backed vocals to lush choral soundscape and on to a percussive close. ‘A Running Start’ could be an outtake from Illinois with its musical theatre vibe and Christmassy sleigh bells ringing through the lovely woodwind arrangement.

Recent single ‘Will Anybody Ever Love Me’ may be a painful plea for unconditional love, but its beaming, expansive sound ― all answering chorus and warm strings ― cartwheels slowly into a joyous listening experience. ‘Everything That Rises’ has a lovely layered vibe that leans into Stevens’ Christian beliefs, with its hymn-like spirituality and swaying vocals which evoke worshipful praise.

There are dark undercurrents on the album too, despite the delicacy. ‘Genuflecting Ghost’ brings some variety to the overall sound of the album, with an impressive use of percussion and electronic drums reminiscent of his 2020 album The Ascension.  The cello-driven ‘Javelin (To Have and To Hold)’ brings a pleasing tension through its judicious arrangement of strings.

‘Shit Talk’ is the longest and darkest track on the album and features guitar playing from The National’s Bryce Dressner. Coming in at over eight minutes it features Stevens’ strongest, most heartfelt vocal performance as he reminds the listener repeatedly that ‘I don’t want to fight at all’. The album then closes with the palette cleanser of a Neil Young cover. ‘There’s a World’ is perfectly suited to Stevens’ feathery heartbroken vocal.

Sufjan Stevens resides deep inside his material, creating songs with dramatic narrative and auditory push, marrying musically ornate arrangements with his plaintive vocals. His music has always worked best when immersed in a theme, encouraging devotion from his listeners. He may not win new fans over with Javelin, but those devoted listeners will be more than happy with this collection of miniature epics. On this latest album, Stevens is playing to his strengths; the heartfelt, the ecstatic, the often overblown. As a gifted creator of mood, he has taken the personal and made it a jubilant communal experience.