A genre-shape-shifter, Sufjan Stevens dabbles in an array of sounds ranging from techno in The Ascension to the alternative folksy tunes of Carrie & Lowell. Stevens presented a fusion of his talents in his tenth studio album release Javelin. Dedicated to his late partner, Evans Richardson, the album consists of ten songs, coming in just under forty-five minutes. Javelin’s versatile melodies transport listeners to Stevens’ various eras yet delivers a refreshing vulnerability throughout.
Opening with a farewell, “Goodbye Evergreen” prepares listeners for an emotional rollercoaster, starting off with a quiet piano and progressing into a warped rhythm with layered vocals. “A Running Start” gives a more traditional welcome, shifting to magical vocals and soft finger-picking from Stevens’ early days. Disguising a scathing desire for a youthful closeness, Stevens begs “Don’t go, my lovely pantomime,” likening his lover to a form of child-like entertainment.
The third track of the album, “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?” embraces tortured commands expressing a need for a kind of love “for good reasons, without grievance.” Jubilant strings and a gloomy piano mimic the confusing tone of the tune. This contrast bleeds into the next track “Everything That Rises” with upbeat vocals whispering mantras of morality.
A powerful chorus accompanies Stevens in the track, “Genuflecting Ghost,” speaking to the layered complexity behind one’s relationship with their faith. The track draws beauty from poetic lyrics of empires falling and a mystical percussion. Images of power echo in the following track “My Red Little Fox” where Stevens beckons “my love, my queen” to salvage him. Both tracks end with a mesmerizing percussion, akin to Stevens’ instrumental work.
In “So You Are Tired,” Stevens switches from the commanding nature of earlier tracks to inquisitive lyrics about a dwindling love. With an understated melody moving into striking strings and a choir’s ballad, the weight of the question “was it really all just for fun?” lashes at listeners’ hearts.
Following this love story, the title track “Javelin (To Have and to Hold)” calls attention to the weapon of a javelin, a spear and illustrates dark realities of companionship. The soft, now familiar, vocals of the album communicates dreadful thoughts and inner secrets of death and destruction.
The penultimate track “Shit Talk” serves as the longest track on the album at eight minutes and utilizes every second, providing a sense of closure, calling for “no more fighting.” Interestingly, Stevens ends his album with a cover of Neil Young’s “There’s a World,” ending on a hopeful note after exploring the subtleties of grief and love.
An album written, recorded and produced by Stevens and paired with a book of visual art and essays tied to the songs, Javelin showcases Stevens’ appreciation for the nuances of love and what it means to live — to completely and utterly submit oneself to the intensity of the human experience.
4 breathing disasters out of 5
