Search - Sufjan Stevens :: Sun Came

A simple hopefully helpful analogy

Colin Holden | Madison, WI | 01/04/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Sun is Born is to Sufjan Stevens



as



Steropathic Soul Manure is to Beck



Fans only."

THis ones ok

Mark | Highland, ny | 10/29/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this after his more recent works. This one is more different then those. Having said that its still his beautiful voice so I just left off the songs I really dislike on my ipod.If your a fan you should still check this out."

"Sun" shines

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 12/26/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sufjan Stevens is an indie legend now, with brilliant album after brilliant album, right up to the recent "Songs for Christmas." But he started with the sparkling indie-rock of "A Sun Came," a colourful collection of his relatively early songs -- it's rougher than his other stuff, but still overflows with talent and beauty.



It opens with the slightly medieval flavour of "We Are What You Say," with a stately flute-and-tambourine melody. Sufjan solemnly announces that "we are a servant/we have a song" and finishing up with the reverant "The Spirit is life/We are what You say," right before the music swirls off into a mad tangle of Renaissance acid-folk.



Things get indie-rockier with the catchy flute-and-guitar of "A Winner Needs a Wand," grimy "Demetrius," and the breathless, ghostly folk tune of "Rake." From there on, Stevens explores a half dozen different styles: fuzzy indiepop, more medievalish folk-rock, sparkling lo-fi stuff, glitchpop, shimmering rock, sweeping synth-folk, a sitar dance tune, and much more.



A lot of artists don't really know what they're doing when they first start out, or what kind of music they'll be most talented at. Given that Sufjan Stevens explores at least a dozen kinds of music in "A Sun Came," all completely different, it's pretty clear that he was exploring the styles.



And for the most part, he's successful -- there are some weird moments, like the awkward Beckesque "Super Sexy Woman," but far more like "Joy! Joy! Joy!", a mad squiggle of blips that rearrange into a shimmering, scratchy little pop tune. The different styles are tied together with Stevens' unique flourishes -- oddball synth, smooth acoustic guitar, and mellow piano, as well as some indie-rock grind, bells, keyboard, sweet flute and some odd scratches.



His lyrics are laced with religous references ("I would serve the Kingdom's will"), but Stevens doesn't make it in-your-face. It's a part of his music, because it's part of him. His songwriting skills are rather immature here (lots of very similar and/or repeated lines), but his beautifully smooth voice is almost enough to compensate.



Sufjan Stevens made a heartfelt, exquisite debut in "A Sun Came," full of shimmering indie-folk-pop and colourful instrumentation. A must-have, right before you get his other albums."