On the title track to his latest creation, the multi-faceted Sufjan Stevens pens the line “It’s a terrible thought to have and hold”. The confessional and emotionally vulnerable Javelin, Steven’s return to his singer/songwriter roots, allows the artist to no longer hold on to these thoughts. Rather, he puts them to soaring melodies set to grandiose arrangements that go from twinkling acoustics to orchestral beauty. Javelin marks Steven’s return to a part of his artistry we haven’t seen in years. Ten moving tracks that have the artist returning to the Carrie & Lowell era of his storied and colorful career for an intimate glimpse into the current headspace of a pure artist.
Stevens’ tenth studio LP captures the glimmer in your eye when you see a loved one and stretches that overwhelming feeling to its furthest extent, creating a kaleidoscope-style viewpoint on the plethora of emotions that come with the human experience. Javelin pierces through your heart but doesn’t spill any blood with heart-wrenching poetry more akin to an Ivy League thesis than a traditional singer/songwriter ballad. Stevens’ mastery of tone and song structure allows his most personal feelings to become larger than life, creating a world where he is comfortable enough to spill his deepest truths while finding infectious means to deliver them. The confessional and dark nature of Javelin is juxtaposed by moments of clunky drums and ringing church bells for a sonic landscape brimming with raw emotions and undeniable musicianship.
The songs of Javelin all begin as intimate fireside chats with Stevens opening his heart and letting everything pour out unfiltered. He sets the tone with “Goodbye Evergreen”, a track that starts off as a gentle lullaby before reaching a crescendo of epic proportions. This seems to be the formula of the LP, Stevens’s literary prowess is set to simplistic yet gorgeous arrangements with an explosion of color and wonder to bring these tracks to a close. The tear-jerker “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?” is the most potent example of this. Following some of the most blunt lyrics on the album comes an array of off-kilter drums and angelic harmonies, a lush end to a stirring ballad. “So You Are Tired” explores the complexity of a one-sided relationship while “Everything That Rises” takes a more abstract approach to painting Stevens’ vivid imagination.
Javelin is a head-first free fall into the hauntingly beautiful and complex mind of an accomplished artist with his heart on his sleeve and a thirst for innovation. While longtime fans of Sufjan Stevens might be quick to compare these songs to his others in the singer/songwriting realm, don’t. Javelin is a poignant snapshot of Stevens’s journey to this point in his career and pushes the boundaries of his art to their most jaw-dropping and potent. Javelin is another technicolored and honest feather in Sufjan Stevens’s hat, a feather that feels freeing and warm as the artist gives us some of his best work in years.
