Sufjan Stevens - Javelin ALBUM REVIEW
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ส.ค. 2024
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One of Sufjan's most beautiful albums, and that's saying a lot.
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FAV TRACKS: GOODBYE EVERGREEN, A RUNNING START, WILL ANYBODY EVER LOVE ME, EVERYTHING THAT RISES, MY RED LITTLE FOX, SO YOU ARE TIRED, JAVELIN, SHIT TALK, THERE'S A WORLD
LEAST FAV TRACK: GENUFLECTING GHOST
SUFJAN STEVENS - JAVELIN / 2023 / ASTHMATIC KITTY / SINGER-SONGWRITER, FOLKTRONIC
9/10 www.theneedled...
Y'all know this is just my opinion, right?
You know an album is actually meaningful to a lot of people when even a Fantano comment section loses the humor and focuses on the album
It happened in the "A Crow Looked At Me," review too.
Or when Anthony doesn’t have a nickname at the start of the review for himself
Crazy to see someone with the robust catalog of Sufjan to still be able to show growth and emotion in new music. Such a gorgeous album
Gotta be honest, I'm happy he's back on top because I felt like everything he did since Carrie & Lowell was underwhelming at best.
@@Hopesfalloutthats still his favorite album of mine, it still feels like his most personal. and most of the songs feel like something he made up in the moment and added a bit more in the studio. sure the production isnt insane but its his most emotionally raw performances yet. thats kinda the appeal for me, especially if you listen to some of the demos for some songs
@@HopesfalloutA Beginner’s Mind is excellent
@@HopesfalloutBeginners Mind??? The Ascension??
@@demifolk8940
….you mean. “that’s *your* favorite album of *his”* ???
The “I don’t wanna fight at all / I will always love you” in Shit Talk with the backing vocals and final crescendo into the wall of sound is one of the most powerful and beautiful things I’ve ever heard in my life
fuck you now im getting teary eyed again
Thus was also the point that first sent me over the edge lol. I think he really nailed the tracklisting so the pay off here is heightened even more. Love a good tracking order in an album
Dude I was thinking the same thing driving home from work today, I didn't even understand fully what I was listening to but I knew it was nothing I've never heard
Yeah that section really broke me down. Handily one of the best passages he's ever written.
I agree, so beautiful it hurts! I also love "so you are tired", the backing vocals are absolutely divine and the lyrics.. "I was a man born invisible" breaks me! I still can't listen to this song without crying 🥲
RIP Evans Richardson. Such a lovely tribute and album from an equally lovely man.
who is he?
@@colloquiallySufjan's partner that passed away less than a year ago
@@nutritiousapple6366 darn. he seems to lose a lot of people around him
Sufjan is so beloved and influential that even Melonheads will make genuine comments on Anthony's reviews of his work.
@@connorcampbell5839it’s kind of disheartening to prepare yourself for the callous disregard and ironic detachment peddled by the “humor” in most of these comments sections. It’s really refreshing to read all the comments here.
This is your redemption arc after your Carrie and Lowell review
this makes it seem like he gave it a red flannel 😅
7 ain’t a negative score, it’s just that everyone else puts a 7 on records that are average
The 4th "Hold me closely, hold me tight" from Sufjan is so heart wrenching and beautiful, it gives me chills and I just wanna rewind it every time I hear it.
The best part of the album
This album devastates me, knowing what circumstances surround the album. The music touches with me on a level I haven’t really felt before. I can listen but the moment I dig into the lyrics I cry and am not able to finish. It’s almost too beautiful for me. And it makes me feel almost guilty knowing how much Sufjan put into it. I pray Sufjan recovers, and that he finds the peace he’s brought so many.
Weird how knowing the back story makes the music more meaningful - it totally does though
i haven’t listened yet, what’s the backstory?
I think he dedicated the record to his late partner?@@jaymf2560
@@jaymf2560 commenting cause i want to to know as well
Yeah I also wanna know the history
Over 20 years into his career, and he just released what could be his best album ever
possibly the best album ever
this album is amazing, but it's no illinois, maybe on par with michigan but idk
@@loadedpainted7040whos lar and how i get on that
Very few artists keep releasing fire material a quarter-century into their career, much less material on _this_ level. Sufjan is a rare talent and may he recover from his physical and emotional burdens soon.
@@TheAndrewj96 forreal man, Michigan, Illinois, The Age of Adz, Carrie & Lowell, Beginner's Mind, All Delighted People, Javelin are all solid to masterpiece in quality, even the extras album "The Avalanche" is awesome
even with all of those 50+ minute projects i still haven't listened to seven swans, his christmas albums, and his ambient centered works yet
Shit Talk is one of the most beautiful songs i've ever listened to, i've never seen before a song capture so accurately the feeling of a relationship falling apart with toxicity and constant fighting to the point you feel like you can't be near that person anymore, "i will always love you but i cannot look at you", and the final part where Sufjan keeps singing "i don't wanna fight at all" because it happened so much it made him exausted of it while "i will always love you" keeps being said by the backing vocals is just perfection, one of his BEST songs ever.
I'm going through the fall of a relationship with a person i loved and still do so much and this song made me cry like a baby, truly one the most beautiful songs ever.
I also love the pace of the rhyming lines "Hold me closely, hold me tightly lest I fall/I don't wanna fight at all". Like he's trying to be strong, but then suddenly slacks, if you get what I'm saying.
Layers upon layers of pain. Losing what is essentially a soul mate and then struggling with a debilitating illness. I did not think he could expand the thematic, unresolved grief from Carrie and Lowell, however I do believe this is a man's soul baring moment that is one for the modern ages. It is bittersweet because only through immense pain can a seminal work be so thorough. Pure art, in other words.
@ontheturningaway bro why you gotta bring hate and divisiveness into this
You praise Sufjan for his Christianity with one hand and inadvertently criticize him by disparaging the LGBTQ community with another
Just enjoy the music and show your love and support for Sufjan cuz I don’t wanna fight anymore
@@ontheturningawaySufjan is literally part of the, "Alphabet soup community" you hateful weirdo
@@ontheturningawayyour rage bait is very apparent
@@ontheturningawaysufjan is an "alphabet person" lmao
@@ontheturningaway he is a Christian, and he is also queer. He has always explored queerness in his music, but the album is literally dedicated to his late partner, who was a MAN. It’s not up for debate or interpretation lmao
This album is a perfect 10 in my opinion. Doesn’t put a foot wrong, absolutely stunning musical performance. The context of the album is devastating, but Sufjan finds a way to channel his grief into absolute beauty, while still retaining the element of sadness. With this album he has mastered his craft.
Love this take. Still like Fantanos too but shiiiii-
Heck even the title looks as messy as the emotions Stevens is going through. The title track is an absolute standout.
What's stunning about the musical performance?
I absolutely agree with this take. It’s perfect and I rarely can say that about music.
Album so good the comments are serious for once
Such a wonderful, touching record. It combines so many of Sufjan’s sounds from over the years so well. It’s sure to stay in my rotation for a very long time.
Sufjan hasn't sounded so LUSH since Illinois and his lyrics are beautiful and sad. This is my album of the year and I am so grateful for Sujan's generosity and artistry for sharing this with us.
I disagree. I love Illinoise it's a 9/10 for me, but I'd argue All Delighted People, Age of Adz, and Carrie and Lowell are all better/more lush. I think Javelin stands right along side those other three, and just a half tier above Illinois.
I hope it gets grammy
@@moleratical1232age of adz and delighted are def more lush, i really dont know about carrie and lowell. That one is certainly more rustic
@@moleratical1232 Listen to Come On! Feel the Illinoise! rn
Did you skip the whole Carrie and Lowell
Even though the context of the album and themes in the songs are so heartbreaking, it also feels so hopeful for what is to come in the future (especially on the final track). Sufjan gives me hope to overcome obstacles in my life, and I hope he does for you as well.
One of the most cohesive and lush albums I’ve ever in a good minute. Album of the year in my book. Rest in peace to Evans. Stay strong Sufjan! We all love you!
definitely one of the albums I've ever
I agree man, this is definitely the most I’ve ever
It's crazy how you heard an album and then LITERALLY ONE GOOD MINUTE LATER you heard this one
@@kurtsnugglyno
For someone who’s so reserved,I think Sufjan’s songwriting is top tier because in this like 30-40 minute stretch,he gives us so much information about this relationship and loss and it’s just crushing. Really hurts to listen to,I really want Sufjan to be okay,always been one of my favorites. This and the Armand Hammer record are my favorites this year and they couldn’t be any more different
I put this album on last night while i was high, and I have never cried so hard in a long time…for no apparent reasons either. It was a cathartic session, one i didn’t know i needed. Definitely gonna be one of my fave albums this year!
Sufjan Stevens is arguably one of the greatest singer-songwriters of his generation. I don't think he gets enough credit for being a great lyricist either. The lyrics in 'Shit Talk: "I will always love you, but I cannot look at you" are so simple yet so impactful.
He probably has the deepest and most robust discography this century, along with Kanye.
Not arguable for me he's number one
I would 100% put him at the top of the list of our greatest songwriters along with Laura Marling, Adrianne Lenker, FJM, Robin Pecknold etc.
@@joeboonmusic4004 to my Shame I only know Laura marling so need to check the others out
Joanna Newsom and Julia Holter
This was my first time checking out a Sufjan album and it’s honestly brought me back to how I felt listening to my first Bjork album (vespertin). There’s a strange magic to stumbling across some of an artist’s greatest work on a whim, and it makes me excited to dive deeper into his catalog
One of the most beautiful albums I've ever heard. This remind me of Mount Eerie's Crow, two albums about love and death that hit you like "This is the prettiest album ever, I don't wanna touch this ever again"
Crow… even being reminded of its existence … my god
at least Sufjan joins the sad indie 9/10 album club with A Crow and Benji
@@wadejg_blaze0n213and carrie and lowell
I unironically think this is an improvement over Carrie And Lowell, and possibly his highest point since Illinois. Hope everything actually gets better for him and that he continues to make great art like this again and again ☺️
also genuinely cannot believe that he is 48
Yeah it’s better than C&L
He's aging beautifully
Idk about that… C&L is one of my all time favs. I dont think this is as good
For sure an improvement and both are great!
@@tylerware2836 C&L is great as well, I just prefer Javelin a bit more.
Beyond grateful to Sufjan for this experience. This record has easily cemented itself into my top 3 albums of his, and is my AOTD so far. Incredible stuff, RIP Evans Richardson.
bcnr better but excellent album
Just listened to it, it's amazing. I would also call it my Album Of The Day, so far.
to me personally its a contender for album of the decade only being slightly topped by amts from up there.
@@NathanielSnider1017 I think ants from up there and javelin are both 10s. The most moving and eye opening albums I’ve ever heard in so many ways
@@MicahSmartI think they meant the decade, but yeah
My new favourite Sufjan record. Deserved score!
I cried listening to the album. Then I thought “Shit Talk” was the resolution of this sadness. Then I read his Instagram post. It felt like a javelin stabbed right through my heart 😭 I just wanna give Sufjan a good long hug.
This is my first introduction to sufjan stevens I had no prior info about what the album is abt or of the artist and all I came back to is recasted but in a hopeful way. I legit started crying on the end of shit talk it’s literally so beautiful and now knowing more information on sufjan screens ima have to delist me this again because this album is one of the most heartbreaking and heart lifting piece of music I heard
10/10, no debate. I’ve never enjoyed an album so thoroughly as this one. Every song is perfect in its own way.
This is one of those albums that you confidently feel will be looked back as a classic, defining album of the time. Maybe not one that is influential, but one that everyone will remember fondly as something that moved us all in the moment and perhaps beyond. It feels like one of the most special albums we've gotten as music fans in several years, regardless of the context that makes it hit deeper. This record must cement Sufjan's legacy as one of the forefront songwriters of our time.
I’ve never written down a video before, but I MUST now because Javelin’s touched every fibre of my body while listening to it. We can definitely feel the pain. It’s a 10 for me, new classic
as someone who has lost a partner, this album tore me apart. it really means a lot to me hah
Well deserved for Sufjan. He’s gone through so much and this release shows his emotional and character growth. It’s so beautiful and cinematic, I can’t get enough. I honestly think it ends too soon, but that isn’t a critique as much as a request.
Just listened to Planetarium again, completely missed that great Album! Just amazing how consistent and always refreshing Sufjans music is. ❤
Each song is a masterpiece together with the whole album. Sufjan's entire repertoire in one album. A huge gift for your ears.
Crazy how there's still musicians out there from my youth still making music. Sufjan Stevens, bright eyes and spoon.
I would like to commend you for having great Sufjan and Bright Eyes taste and for having Elliott's (in my opinion) best record in your profile pic x
Everything that rises must converge is a reference to the French priest and philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin: "Remain true to yourself, but move ever upward toward greater consciousness and greater love! At the summit you will find yourselves united with all those who, from every direction, have made the same ascent. For everything that rises must converge."
Everything that rises must converge is beautiful theology that sums up Sufjan’s message perfectly, “Remain true to yourself, but move ever upward toward greater consciousness and greater love. At the summit you will find yourselves united with all those who, from every direction, have made the same ascent. For everything that rises must converge”
Also could be referring to the Flannery O’Connor collection of short stories that basically has the same message
"Please subscribe and please don't cry..."
TOO FUCKING LATE, MELON. I'M ALREADY SUBSCRIBED AND NOW I'M CRYING LISTENING TO THIS ALBUM ON LOOP, YOU MONSTER. 😭
In all seriousness, I've gotten to the point where I can't listen to "Shit Talk" at all without fighting tears. It just paints this beautiful, haunting picture of a complicated relationship on the verge of an inevitable untimely end, and the overwhelming plea to put aside all of the complications for the sake of love in these final moments, because in the end, none of those things matter as much as their love, even as they painfully grieve the lack of closure.
Stevens hasn't hit me this hard since "Casimir Pulaski Day". Fuck, man. It's almost a shame how devastating this album is for me, because I could keep listening to this album for hours just for its sheer beauty, but my heart just can't take the emotional rollercoaster of it all.
Absolutely beautiful album, in every sense of the word. I haven't felt this strong about a Sufjan record since Age of Adz.
Yessss. Loving the love for Age of Adz
Deep the fact that this album wasn't even nominated for a grammy.
Not appreciating the shade to his previous albums because they were masterpieces too.
I just can’t get over the fact that he wrote both Casimir Pulaski Day and this.
it's been a whole week and I still can't help but cry whenever i hear Shit Talk, what a wonderfully heartbreaking song
I’ve never heard of this guy but my uncle has the same disease he was diagnosed with. He still can’t walk after 2 years. Incredibly debilitating disease with no warning. Can’t imagine.
I’m a moderate fan but this is his best work in my opinion and that’s on every level, his lyrics are poetic but clear and they are delivered with more range than usual. The song arrangements and instrumentation is complex without getting muddy or cluttered . The entire thing is perfectly cohesive. Even without the backstory it’s a heavy listen but knowing the backstory it’s absolutely gutting. It’s a 10 for me and an instant classic.
Can't believe fantano still hasn't put out a review for oneohtrix point never's "again"... please!
Comes out just in time for me to spend the whole winter crying to it too, good on you Sufjan
Javelin has to be my song of the year. I'm fully obsessed. I cried the first time I listened
Strong case for “So You Are Tired” as song of the year. Tough competition against Burfict! And Cowboy Nudes but I think it stands
This album is perfect.
I'm a simple man, i saw fantano reviewing Sufjan Stevens, I click
i LOVE getting my heart broken thank u sufjan
The way Sufjan contorts his voice on Shit talk is one of the most beautiful things I've heard, especially given the context of the record
I wish he’d put out a bad album. Then we’d know his life isn’t going tragically.
I can't stop listening to this album since the day it came out! So beautiful!
as someone who has never listened to sujfan and hasn’t listened to the album either, i was gonna make a typical ‘ty for giving me my opinion melon’ but that would be quite disrespectful given the context of this record, and i will now listen to it later tn.
If you like indie or singer-songwriter albums, check out Illinois, is a perfect album
@@mauricioandres7470 Ty for the rec, I do enjoy singer-songwriter albums and I think if I like Javelin (And I think I will), I’ll do a discography dive on Sujfan.
and???
What did you think?
@@moleratical1232 forgot abt this comment until now, and I’ve only recently done a discog dive on him, but it was amazing. 9/10, very beautiful record.
All of his best music is so fucking tragic. Casimir Pulaski Day is probably his best song and this whole album feels like if that song grew up and became an album. More than any other album, this feels like the culmination of a long and elustrious career lived along a life of tremendous loss and personal struggles, all of his past really shines through with this one. I still think Illinois is probably a better album, but this is a close second for me.
Casimir Pulaski day is an amazing work - probably agree although Carrie and Lowell is my fave it's close with Illinois
I love this record. So gorgeous and so moving. Shit talk is one of my two favourites (alongside So You Are Tired), but personally I don't interpret it the same as Anthony. I am guessing that it was written before Evans died, and that it is about giving up on a relationship despite still loving the person, but not having the energy to fight anymore - not declaring love for someone who has passed. I believe that Evan's passing is referenced elsewhere in the record, but not on that track. It feels closely related to So You Are Tired.
I love this album so much, sufjan has been through so much it aches me, I hope he’s going to be okay😢
Unbelievable beautiful. The ambient break down on Shit Talk might be his greatest moment ever
I know this man turns his grief into beautiful art but can we all agree that this man must be protected at all costs? someone get him all the happiness please.
This album feels like the instrumental lushness and beauty of his early albums like Illinois with the lyrical weigh of C&L, a culmination of much of what he's made before into one beautiful piece of work
Decent-to-strong 9 is the highest score this year.
I'd sort of gone from being a real big fan slowly making my way through Sufjan's back catalogue, to kind of not making as much time to absorb his albums fully as I found myself getting busier over these past couple of years...
Now with this new album being so personal and finding out all the context behind it has motivated me to go back and make the effort to listen through all his stuff in my own time (especially now that I collect vinyl!).
Sufjan is truly one of the greatest artists of our generation.
I've been listening every day and recommending to friends. Just love it. I knew about his sickness, but not his partner. Heartbreaking.
Are your friends depressed?
perfect score, melon 😭😭 one of the most beautiful records of the year
i have literally had this album on repeat since it came out, it's devastating beautiful hopeful
This album is extremely beautifully... painful. A bright sadness. But still for me Stevens is that guy who wrote 4th of July. And this composition is an unbeatable masterpiece.
Such a fantastic album, might be my AOTY
decent to strong 9 basically means 10.
new 10 confirmed.
I would say that decent to strong 9 means a decent 9. Not a ten.
@@Foeisudhxj Normally I'd agree, but since this album is clearly a 10 that meanns strong 9 must = 10
Sufjan’s best since Illinois, super emotional record
total 10/10 for me. one of the mstt devastating and heartbreaking albums of all time.
I don't need to hear anyone's opinions on albums but just came here to say this album is fucking amazing
Album of the year EASILY
i love how these reviews open up my mind to new music. thank you Anthony for letting me know the amazing record exists.
It feels like classic Sufjan songwriting with his more recent experimental electronic music ornamenting it all perfectly
strong agree. deeply moving record and it was so cool to first experience it with you and the NMF fam on twitch, as silly as that sounds.
I'm calling it. This is gonna be his AOTY
This or Jeff Rosenstock's scored a Decent 9
I would call this one a strong 9 possibly a 10? It's brilliant from beginning to end!
Every listen I give this album makes my heart grow 10x larger. please help
10/10 for ke for sure. Sufjan is a an absolute giant and in the league of some of the best living songwriters today.
i really hope sufjan is doing so much better
Devastating record, Sufjan is such an authentic songwriter it's impossible not to feel some sort of emotion from it
20 years since Illinois is not something I’m ok with 😳
You know it’s a special album when the Fantano comment section is full of thoughtful takes instead of memes.
This does not excuse the 7 for Carrie and Lowell, Melon
Album of the Year. Just stunning. I guess it might get "Best Alternative Album" or something like that, but it's the Best overall, imho, and the best album Sufjan has ever made.
we gon need an A Great Chaos rating lil bro
So happy to see this album getting all the love it deserves 🩵
9 seems a little low for this one. It;s only a week old and I can confidently say it is AOTY, or at least it should be.
Love this album 😩. Would love to see a review for Hannah Diamonds new album
This album left me feeling depressed afterward, Sufjan Stevens does it again 😊
IT'S A 10!!!!!
it's the perfect balance between the production of AoA, the tunes of Illinois, the simplicity of C&L
It's intimacy, and hope, and fear and love.
It's short, but it would have been too long otherwise.
You haven't anything bad to say about it
It's a 10
i'm so incredibly happy that sufjan built upon the beautiful, delicate folk sound that he established with carrie and lowell here; i was pretty scared he was going to return to the art pop/experimental electronic sound like in age of adz which i'm not a fan of in the slightest.
Check out Seven Swans (and a majority of Michigan) if you loved the stripped down intimacy and folkiness of C+L. All three are masterpieces.
@@PondOfGlue oh dw i'm well aware of that album haha, some of the best love songs ever on there
@@MajoraWaffle I wholeheartedly agree 🥰
Shit talk is my favorite song of this entire year, he made a masterpiece a one in life experience with that bridge
A great chaos when
fantano, as a huge fan of Sufjan and you, please give me more retro reviews for Sufjan´s records
Age of Adz never gets the recognition it deserves
great review!
my list so far:
1. Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
2. Jeff Rosenstock - HELLMODE
3. yeule - softscars
4. Sufjan Stevens - Javelin
5. Amaarae - Fountain Baby
6. Jessie Ware - That! Feels Good
7. Victoria Monét - JAGUAR II
8. Mitski - The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We
9. ANOHNI and the Johnsons - My Back Was a Bridge For You to Cross
10. JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown - SCARING THE HOES
Good list thanks for this
Like why wasn't he wearing the yellow flannel?
Is anyone else avoiding this album? I've heard a little bit and I don't feel like I'm ready. I'm terrified to feel all the emotion that will come.
Is this a real thing? Are people avoiding good records because of the emotions they'll feel? I'm genuinely wondering because that makes me feel like I'm not able to feel quite as many emotions as the average person when listening to music. I typically try to disconnect myself from the song and just listen to it on a feeling that the artist intended level. Javelin really creates a feeling of comfort hope and reality. Nothing sad about accepting reality...
Easily one of my favorite singer-songwriter records of this whole decade.