Just as the name suggests, My Liner Notes takes from the nostalgic art form of an LP’s liner notes, which can be found within the inner sleeves and inserts of dusty records and cassette tapes. The personal essays found on this blog contain anecdotal and factual material which celebrate the visceral and emotional connection we all share with music. These analytical, humorous, and often poignant opinion-editorials are always delivered with the kind of brutal honesty you can only expect from a music nerd.
For the past month this blog has inadvertently transformed into some kind of gushing Sufjan Stevens fan site.
But I’m not about to apologize. It’s been five years since we’ve gotten a proper release from everyone’s favourite sensitive indie/folk singer-songwriter so this is a pretty big deal.
And now with his recently released EP, an upcoming North American tour, and a full-length album on the horizon, The Year of Sufjan is Finally Upon Us! Let Us Rejoice!
Well, for those of you who have been dying for October 12th — the release date of Sufjan’s Age of Adz — to come along, you won’t have to wait any longer (at least to hear the album).
The good folks at NPR are currently streaming all 11 tracks off the album. After more than 15 listens of the album I can honestly say that Age of Adz is one of the year’s most ambitious and ground-breaking albums.
Sufjan combines the glitchy future-pop of 2001’s Enjoy Your Rabbit with the lyrical imagery and soaring orchestral arrangements of previous albums, Michigan and Illinois.
This is not to say the album is an easy listen. Your ears and brain will have to do a little work here, especially when considering the length of the material (songs range from four minutes up to 25 minutes!).
But overall, Sufjan delivers another classic album with Age of Adz which more than makes up for the five years we had to wait for its release.
