Sufjan Stevens’ “All Delighted People EP” a personal, impactful ride

• Tweet
• 

The most recent release from independent singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens comes in the shape of a collection of tracks that was released without any promotion whatsoever on his Bandcamp website

“All Delighted People EP,” his first since his 2005 breakthrough, “Illinois,” was released on August 20th.

The record finds Stevens combining many elements of his past work, ranging from bombastic arrangements, schizoid electronics and hushed folk, into a cohesive work that manages to stand on its own quite well.

Calling the album an EP is a bit of a misnomer. Clocking in at 45 seconds under an hour, “All Delighted People” isn’t your average EP, most of which last no more than 30 minutes. Over the course of the album’s length, Stevens reaches into his past and culls up the different stylistic versions of himself that he’s established on past albums.

The electronics that littered “Enjoy Your Rabbit” are here. The aching and hushed folk of “Michigan” and “Seven Swans” are also present. The orchestral bombast of “Illinois” also comes into play, especially on the two tracks which bookend the album, opener “All Delighted People (Original Version)” and closer “Djohariah,” both of which stand out as highlights.

It becomes rather difficult to talk about a few of the tracks on the EP in language that’s often associated with popular music, especially when speaking about “All Delighted People (Original Version),” which finds Stevens going for broke, playing all the cards he’s got in his deck, sometimes all at once.

Thematically, “All Delighted People EP” is quite a far cry from Stevens’ other work, especially “Michigan” and “Illinois,” which found Stevens weaving elements of each respective state with stories that felt as if they belonged to the people inhabiting those states. On “All Delighted People,” the emotions behind these songs sound as if they belong to Stevens and him alone, from the joy of “All Delighted People” to the heartbreak of the stunning “The Owl and the Tanager.”

What exactly “All Delighted People EP” is, is still uncertain. Is it a one-off thing? Is it a precursor to an LP that will be released later? Is this all we’re going to hear from Stevens for another five years? If this is material Stevens is willing to release online for $5, sans any sort of promotion whatsoever, one can only imagine what material Stevens may be preparing for a proper LP release. Good thing we have this to tide us over in the meantime.

“All Delighted People EP” can be streamed for free and purchased in digital form at sufjanstevens.bandcamp.com for $5.

-4/5 stars